The Road back to you
by Becciehill1976
Summary: The road back to you takes place about 13 months before the end of 13x23. It tells the story of what really was happening in the alternative universe and what Michael has been planning as he tries to find a way to our universe. It's told mainly from Michaels' POV. It's my first Fan fic so please go easy and keep in mind I don't have a beta. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

**_13 months ago_**

Eyes stared taking in the scene before him and from the silence he whispered "And I look upon my dominion and weep as I realise there are no more worlds to conquer."

Michael sighed heavily. He was in one of his moods again. Ever since 'the fight' with his brother he was feeling hollow, bored, restless and unchallenged. As the first and strongest archangel he would deny he ever had feelings never name anything resembling human emotions, but here he was gazing out across a desolate world, a world he had less created but more fashioned by his own actions. A world that was empty and cold and as far from being heavenly or utopian as it could be.

It was here at the entrance to his 'fortress' that reality began to sink in. As he gazed out across his empty earth – the earth his actions created – did he realise the only thing worse than never getting what you wanted was getting what you wanted.

The irony was not lost on him. For many a millennial he had waited. The dutiful son, waiting for the prophecy to come to pass. His father had been gone for thousands of years but his word was clear. The day would come and his brother – Lucifer – Morning Star – would be released from his cage and Michael and the armies of heaven would move upon the earth and brother would fight brother and God bequeathed that Michael would take his sword and strike down his brother Lucifer. So it was written and so it will be done.

It hadn't been perfect. After so many years of waiting. Shaping destinies and bringing together the bloodlines it had happened, but not as he had foreseen.

It was always meant to happen through the Winchester/Campbell bloodline. When both Men of Letters and hunter bloodlines would merge and two sons would be born then and only then would the signs herald in the apocalypse. But sadly, Mary Campbell and John Winchester met. They even fell in love as destiny ensured they would, but one 'wrong' decision by Mary Campbell ended the perfect plan.

Mary was meant to say yes. She was meant to take the deal offered to her by Azazel. The deal that would give her back her one true love – her soul mate, John Winchester and all for the exchange of agreeing to allow Azazel to visit her home in 10 years. It should have been so simple. All the planning to ensure everything was in place so that Dean and Sam would be born. But both Heaven and Hell had taken for granted something so small and trivial as Mary's strong moral streak and belief 'that what's dead should stay dead.'

But she had taken the deal and as a result John died that night and as Mary surveyed the scene before her she became cold and closed off and promised to no longer seek out the 'normal life'. Instead she embraced her true calling – the life of a hunter and she took off into the night to kill anything and everything supernatural. It was this mission and drive that lead her to her eventual death just after the great rapture began. Mary Winchester went down swinging in style as the only way a great hunter could do – she fell saving the lives of innocents.

'To hell with Mary Winchester and to hell with prophecy.' Michael smirked as he remembered how Hell had started it. Indeed it was Hell that ran out of patience first. As far as Hell and in particular Lucifer were concerned, the 'great rapture' had to happen irrespective of whether the true vessels had been born. So it was in the dark that Lucifer, Lillith and Azazel plotted. It hadn't been perfect, but after years of waiting Hell found a loop hole which enabled them to draw their battle lines and the world became the battleground for 'the great rapture and the fight'.

It had been bloody and it had been fast. In just over six months, Lucifer had risen, taken a vessel and he had unleashed his demon hordes upon the earth. It had not started with a bang but more with a whimper. Whilst the humans slept (and Heaven lived in denial), Lucifer's plans were put in place and the Four Horsemen – War, Famine, Pestilence and Death were unleashed across the globe. Chaos reigned on earth and it was in this chaos that Heaven decided to intervene.

Still smarting from the failure to adhere to the prophecy, Michael reluctantly took a vessel. It wasn't ideal and it was definitely not his sword, but it would hold him. It would have to hold him. Armed with righteousness and one seriously pissed off attitude Michael took his army into battle and the world burned and humanity and everything worth fighting for burned with it.

It hadn't been perfect but brother met brother on the field at Stull and the great 'fight' ensued and it was over the skies of Aberlene that Lucifer fell and the 'great rapture' ended and all with a flash of light as a huge set of wings burned and fizzled out of existence.

The death of his brother did not to quell the anger within him. As Lucifer fell silence reigned in Heaven, Hell and everywhere in between but still out of the silence there was still no utopia. No return of his father. Instead Michael watched as the smoke and dust settled and it was then and only then did he realise his father had forsaken him. He hadn't been a good son. He must have done something wrong to deserve this.

And so, as his first of what would be quite a few meatsuits began to burn up, Michael grew even colder and madder. This could not be it. There had to be meaning and message. His father must be teaching him a lesson or testing him. He needed to do better. _'Maybe it's not finished?_ ' Maybe I need to cleanse mankind of it's evil?' Armed with these thoughts Michael turned his attention to cleansing what was left of mankind and it was in the cleansing that he realised his true calling. He was meant to lead, to rule, to subjugate the weak humans and he so loved it.

BANG! THUD! Jolted out of his day dream Michael turned to see what the commotion behind him was. Across the hallway, one Kevin Tran – a very annoying human as well as the prophet of the Lord fell off his seat. At first Michael attributed the action to the usual daily occurrence as the rather nervous prophet would often bump into something or knock over something but this seemed different. Instead of jumping up and mumbling over and over how sorry he was for disrupting his Lord and Master – the Great and only ruler of Heaven the human lay still, eyes wide open and in a trance.

At first Michael ignored the human as he lay still on the floor. But it was after a few minutes he sensed that this was in fact a trance. The prophet was having a vision. He was receiving the message from God. This could not be. The apocalypse was over there was nothing left to prophesise so why was the prophet receiving 'the word of God'. His father had forsaken him, unless? Intrigued by this new development, Michael slowly approached the human. He sensed the divine power of God pulsing through the prophet, but the only questions he could think was – 'what message was being received? And why now?' 'At last, my actions on earth have been worthy. Thank you father. Thank you.'

Over the next hour Michael felt powerless. It was a new feeling. For thousands of years he had foreseen most events and had been in control. Though not as good as a prophet of the Lord, Michael also had many gifts including the gift of seeing future and in particular his own future – a very useful skill and one he never ignored. In fact he always was in control. It was on only a few occasions – namely Mary Winchester saying no and Hell starting the apocalypse early – had Michael ever had the feeling of not being in control. But as his prophet lay on the floor obviously receiving an important message, Michael could do nothing more than speculate.

His thoughts took him to many dark areas of his essence. "What's left to do? What is left to conquer? What have I missed? There's only some small and insignificant pockets of rebels scattered across the world, perhaps I need to erase the humans off the face of this planet. The weak hairless apes could not possibly pose a threat to my heaven and my authority? Am I to eradicate and scourge the earth of every last one of my father's favourite creations?"

"Noooooooooo! I don't understand. What am I looking at? Forgive me but I don't understand." Kevin Tran jolted out of his trance and as he began to come back to his plane of existence it was then that he realised his place and bowed his head so he further avoided eye contact with his master, Lord Michael.

"Prophet! What did you see?" On hearing both Michaels words and tone Kevin shrugged himself more awake and out of his and while he was doing this, Michael had moved closer until he was literally hovering 3 – 4 inches from Kevin's face. It was obvious Kevin was not aware of his surrounding but it became clear when he did as he lowered his head and said: "Forgive me my Lo.. Lord, but.." Kevin froze as honestly how could he explain what he had witnessed never name what the consequences would be if he had gotten any of it wrong.

"But what?" Michael belted out as clearly his patience was wearing thin with the prophets' failure to get to the point. " I, hmmm, I I don't know. I can't be sure what I saw or maybe it's what I felt, but I know something big had just happened. I felt a presence. Without being geeky about it – the only way I can describe it is I felt a movement in the force."


	2. Chapter 2: What on earth is going on?

"A movement in the force?!" Michael huffed out in confusion. _What the hell did that even mean?_ "Prophet. You have one job and that is to receive God's word and share with me. So, cease with your childish jibberish and explain. And do it clearly and do it quickly."

 _'_ _That's two jobs'_ thought Kevin, but Kevin quickly ended that train of though and settled himself. How could he even begin to explain the feelings and images he had just seen. "I'm sorry sir. I mean Lord Michael. Please forgive me it's just it's been such a long time since I have received any visions or messages from your father…. I mean God and I've never experienced anything like what I felt in the vision." Kevin moved closer to Michael and gingerly placed both his shaking hands on the table and after a few deep breaths he said as quickly as possible: "It's hard to describe. One minute I was going about my business serving you and the next it was as if I was not here but that I was in another place and watching events unfold."

 _'_ _Get on with it'._ Michael realised that perhaps a new approach was needed as it looked as if Kevin either was too scared to recall his vision or too scared to tell him what the vision was. Scaring him directly wasn't going to get the much-needed information out of his prophet so reluctantly he moved to sit down at the table opposite the human and against his very nature he slightly softened his voice so it was less an order a more a cajoled prompt and said "OK Kevin. This is important, many lives may depend on it so take a deep breath and tell me what you think you saw".

Though it felt like hours, it was only two minutes tops before Kevin had the courage to speak. "I was miles from here. It looked as if it was happening out in the Westlands out near what used to look like one of the earlier battlefields. At first it was mainly a feeling. I felt a great surge of power enter our world. Emmm, maybe enter isn't the right word. It's hard to describe – it felt like a great power cut right into this world – our world. No, I mean your world. I felt something puncture a hole in our universe. The energy was new and innocent. I went to look closer to see what it was and there was a line of light standing in a clearing. It looked like a rip in time and our space. A rift of about seven feet high. And it glowed. Did I tell you it glowed. Well it did. It kept humming and pulsing."

Realising the irritation on Michaels' face, Kevin stopped babbling and composed himself to continue. Whilst this was going on, Michaels' mind began to process what he was hearing. ' _Energy? New and innocent? Rip in time and space? Pulsing? What does this mean? Is father back or is he sending me a new mission? What on earth is going on?'_

Kevin continued: "I think time moved forward, but then I saw a man with dark hair and blue eyes come out of the rip or I'm going to call it a rift, cause that's way cooler. Sorry Sire, I mean Lord Michael. I'll continue. His aura it was strange but similar. He felt like an angel, but he felt off or different as if he wasn't from our world. Lord Michael he looked kinda lost or confused but then he met with one of the rebel leaders. I can't be sure, but I felt hope coming from the rebel sir and then he left."

'Rebels meeting with off world angels? What is going on? Hope! /! What does it mean?' As Michael began to ponder the information Kevin continued. "Time seemed to jump again and it's then I felt something change. It's hard to explain. The dark-haired blue-eyed man or I mean angel came back through sir. But. Ehh….." Kevin had stopped talking mid sentence. His body language had changed as if he wasn't sure whether sharing the next information was in fact a betrayal or whether not sharing was the betrayal. But his thoughts and opinion were irrelevant, and Michael decided that the gentle approach was not working fast enough so he clenched his fist and pain rocked through Kevin's body. A sharp reminder of who the master was.

"Ahhhhhh. I'm so sorry master. Forgive me but I'm trying to understand all of this and it's fuzzy as if it's out of sync. Maybe it is because it hasn't happened yet." Kevin felt he needed to commit and pick a side. "The angel wasn't alone this time. There were two men with him sir and they also met with the rebel." Kevin stopped abruptly hoping the explanation was enough. It took a minute to realise that he hadn't breathed and just a little longer to realise that Michael was not convinced that he had shared everything.

"And…" Michael shouted. "And what Lord Michael? I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other or the rebel, so I don't know anything more. Please I'm sorry. Please do be mad at me. I'm sorry." Kevin lowered his eyes in the hope that Michael would cease with the questioning but no such luck.

"Your mouth tells me one thing, but your body language tells me there's something more you need to share with me. Something important and the reason why you believe 'it's a movement in the force' I think that was how you described it." Michael shifted where he sat and with a slight movement of his hand he lifted Kevin up into the air and flung him towards the nearest wall of the fortress. "What else did you see, hear or feel? Tell me and tell me NOW!"

Kevin's back was starting to really ache. He knew Michael was not trying to kill him but more he was merely trying to 'persuade' him to reconsider. After a rather long minute of Kevin fidgeting from side to side as he hung pathetically from the wall Kevin was convinced that he needed to disclose all his vision. Though he felt it was wrong and a betrayal to two men he had never met and probably after this news he never would meet.

"I'm not trying to mislead you master. It's just…. I mean it's just I can't be sure what I saw as I've never saw or even felt anything like this before. There was a strong connection to the two men that came through. I hadn't felt it to the angel but the two men – how can I say this – they were resonating."

"Resonating? What do you mean Kevin by resonating?" Michael took a few seconds to process what he had heard from his prophet. ' _Resonating could mean anything. Anything from being out of time or sync with the universe right through t_ o…. _No. It can't possibly be that.'_ Michael couldn't afford to get ahead of himself. He needed more information before he dared to speculate further. "What else prophet?"

"Both men were different as if like the angel the too were from another place, but it was the smaller one of the two men that really stood out." Pain began to course through Kevin's shoulders distracting him from elaborating further and Michael really wanted to know more. As if sensing the impending begging for relief Michael moved his hand again and Kevin dropped like a sack of potatoes to the floor.

"What do you mean that one of them stood out Kevin?" Michael tried to curb his emotions. Over the years that Michael had been earth bound he had had to live with things not being perfect and as a perfectionist this had really bugged him to no end. But he had defeated his brother, ended the war with Hell and in most part, he had enslaved and ruled over most of mankind. It wasn't bad, but he always felt it had been a hollow victory as every so often he would have to trade in a meat suit for another. And each new suit or 'vessel' took getting used to and was never the same as having his 'true vessel'. Resonating humans meant they were in fact actual angel vessels and if the prophet was having visions about these two specific vessels coming here then it had to mean something. But what?

"The shorter one seemed to glow as if he was heavenly and ….. I'm sorry Michael this probably doesn't make sense or mean anything, but I felt righteousness coming out from him. I mean his soul was practically singing with it." It was just after Kevin said the last few words that he stopped talking. Michael's body language had drastically changed. Normally Michael displayed very little emotions other than anger and impatience, but this was something new – something else. Feeling that he had done something right and provided something useful to the ruling deity, Kevin felt confident to continue.

"He was beautiful both in body and I think I was really was looking right at his soul." Michael moved like lightening and appeared straight in front of Kevin. "Stop talking human. Just shut up…. I need to see this for myself." And without further explanation, Michael hauled Kevin off the ground and over to the table and chairs. Kevin was pushed onto the seat and before he had a chance to speak again Michael's hands came up to his face. Using one of his many gifts, Michael began to painfully enter Kevin's mind and probe his memories to see for himself.

Kevin screamed at the intrusion into his mind and memories and he began to twist in his chair but to no avail. Michael's strong grip held him fast and Michael's eyes began to glow and after a few minutes a small smile began to spread across the archangels' face and as quickly as Michael had started the mind probing it was over and Kevin slouched to the floor landing in an unconscious heap.

' _How could this be? The line was broken the true vessels were not born. My sword should not exist, but he has been delivered unto me. Why? To what end?_ As Michael stood completely upright he began to process the information but despite his hopes and aspirations he kept asking himself…. What on earth was going on and why was his vessel battling his long dead brother Lucifer?


	3. Chapter 3 - The secret watcher

**Chapter 3: The secret watcher**

 **Just over 12 months ago…..**

Michael had needed time to process what he had seen and heard. Kevin's vision had been nothing short of being a revelation. Over the past few months he had entertained the possibility of alternative universes and as he had watched the beauty of this world disappear and life as it was known slowly die, he had sought out other 'worlds to conquer'. And here was his father showing him the way. It was fate. It was destiny. Not only had a door to another world appeared, but his true vessel – his sword – presented himself to him. But what to do about it?

Michael was nothing if he wasn't strategic. He was the General of Heaven, God's first and true son and he had eons of experience and though many thought him impatient they were wrong. Before Hell had kick started the apocalypse early, Michael had been patient. He had been annoyed that Mary Campbell had let John Winchester die but he had been ready to wait years if needed until the bloodlines realigned again. What was another 100 years or so to an archangel that lived forever?

So, when faced with Kevin's vision of the future, Michael could wait. All he needed was to calculate what he would do when the 'travellers' arrived. "Lord Michael. I'm sorry to interrupt your contemplation sire, but I have news about the bearded rebel leader that you wanted." Zachariah felt proud to bring good news. He had noticed the distance of his leader for a few weeks now. Michael had withdrawn after the so-called prophet had received a vision. Michael had a shorter temper than usual and was pressing for as much information on the rebel humans in the North America quadrant and particularly with the bearded human.

"And? Zachariah! Just don't stand there you idiot. Report and it better be good news." _'Stupid arrogant imbecile. Standing waiting on ceremony as if I will praise him for doing his job.'_ Michael could barely keep his temper in check. Although he was patient he was also very aware at any time now the portal to another world would open and his true vessel would appear. He wanted to be ready. He needed to be ready.

Smugly Zachariah straightened his back and said: "the bearded rebel is known by other mud monkeys as one Robert Singer or Bobby to many of his human friends. Lord Michael, prior to the rapture the rebel was indeed familiar with the supernatural. But there's nothing to worry about he is of limited threat. He wasn't intelligent enough to be a member of the Men of Letters. He was a lowly hunter and from what I can tell from my sources is that in the last few years he's spent more time behind a desk doing research rather than being out there on the front-line fighting evil. As I've said sir, there's nothing to be worried about. He's no warrior and not a threat."

All the while, as Zachariah had been prattling on and on, Michael had stood still silently and just stared. Finally after a very long explanation, Michael barked out "Really Zachariah? Can you see the future? How do you know there's nothing to be concerned about?" It never ceased to amaze Michael how some angels could be so arrogant when very few of them (apart from Archangels like himself) ever had leadership qualities. Zachariah was just rather good at grovelling and in the past, he had taken credit for another angel's work. There was no doubt in his mind, Zachariah was ambitious. He would tolerate Zachariah ( _for now_ ) if he continued to deliver on his orders.

Zachariah realised his mistake. As per usual, he had been so distracted at trying to impress his Leader that he didn't guard his words. He knew Michael had placed great importance on finding out more information about this lowly human. But why? "Forgive me Sire. This particular mud monkey has been struggling to keep many humans alive over the past few months. He hasn't had time to plot and plan an uprising against you sir. I have spies planted within his camp and they state that the rebel leadership is on it's knees and is struggling to survive never name wage a war." Zachariah thought it best to stop his report there and await any further feedback or instruction. After all he wasn't there to think, only to carry out orders.

Michael stood as still as a statue. ' _It seems the humans in this world did not create the energy and bring help through. Whatever the prophecy is, this Bobby Singer did not plan to meet the travellers but must accidently come across them…. What do I do next?'_ "That will be all Zachariah. You have done your job now go and send out word for Raphael to return from the North as I need to speak with him urgently." Zachariah give a short jump as Michael give him 'praise' for his work but moved quickly to leave and carry out his orders as whatever is going on to call in Raphael means something big is up. Something well above his pay grade. But at least he had played his role and no doubt as things unfolded he could embellish his story and his role further.

Over the next hour or so Michael pondered on this new information. Since the prophets' vision he had become more obsessed. He needed to know more. _Who from this world was involved? Where did the rift open on this world? When will it happen? And most important of all, what does he do – does he let it play out?_ Over the past few weeks he had taken time to tune up his gifts and one gift in particular – his gift of foresight. The last time he had needed to use this gift was when Hell broke Lucifer out of his cage and plunged the world into darkness.

Since the fall of Lucifer, he had really no need to think about the future, never name his future. Why would he? He was ruler of everything he surveyed. The humans could never touch him and unless his father returned (and he sadly doubted that would be anytime soon) there was no enemy stronger. But now there was a possibility to do it right the second time.

A flutter of wings informed Michael of Raphael's' arrival. "Brother. To what do I owe this pleasure to?" Raphael used the greeting to take in the area and more importantly, Michael's mood. "You summoned me. Of what service can I be." As Raphael purred out the last few words Michael turned to face him head on and with a smirk he said: "We are being rewarded with a second chance." Raphael was at a loss at Michaels comment. _What second chance? The bloodline had been broken, Hell had started the war and the righteous side had won._ "Brother, I'm not sure of what second chance you speak of?"

Michael asked Raphael to take a walk with him out of his fortress and into the world and it was over the next hour that Michael explained the vision and the latest information from Zachariah. The ever-loyal Raphael listened with every intention of providing any advice or counsel, but he got the feeling that Michael had already his mind made up, but as per usual Michael sought out his thoughts. "What do you think brother? You are my true and trusted one. I have a plan, but I wanted your counsel before I execute the next steps and the only one I trust most with this is you." With this statement, Michael was now staring straight at Raphael. "Your thoughts Raphael."

After some deliberation Raphael agreed that the threat had come from the other universe. In fact, not only was there an opportunity to start again and using his true vessel but the power that was used to create the gateway to other worlds had to be immense and Heaven needed to take ownership of this power. "Michael. I agree with your plan and I would be honoured to play the important role as your 'secret watcher' but we should give more thought to obtaining the source of the power more than focusing on your true vessel. After all, you've managed to do without 'your sword' for some time now. Are you sure you just want me to watch? Why not intervene and take?"

Raphael had a point and a rather strong one at that. But it was more than just having a power source available. This was about taking up the challenge that his father had now put in place for him to take forward. A new mission. One where he was doing it right this time. He had been given another chance and one he was determined to see through. And that meant he needed more information including more info on the 'travellers' and why they are in his universe; what power had brought them to his universe; what was the other universe like and most importantly how does he get to the other world with his armies and when there how does he avoid the old mistakes that lead to this dead and lifeless rock he called his kingdom? Michael smirked as he thought of an old human saying when he thought of Raphael's suggestion to rush in and take _'Fools rush in where angels fail to tread.'_

"No Brother. Now is not the time to rush in. Yes, we would be victorious, but the sword is useless unless I have something to conquer and this 'rock' is conquered." Michael huffed out the last few words and then still himself as much as he could as he was becoming more frustrated. _Why not take these humans by surprise? I would have my sword, but want if the rift closed on me before I could take an army through? No there must be more to this and patience and further reconnaissance are needed._ "Raphael – normally I would agree with you on this matter if it wasn't for the strong feeling that our father is testing us. He's providing us with another chance to create heaven on earth."

Raphael wasn't totally convinced. Ever since the human Mary Winchester had failed to produce the two vessels he had began to lose faith in the prophecy. This lack of faith in their father's 'grand design' was further diminished when hell found a way to jump start an apocalypse anyway. Raphael didn't see much of his father's handy work on earth in the past few years. In fact, he felt that his father had walked away and had forsaken all of them. But instead of expressing his thoughts and reservations, Raphael chose to bury them deep. It wouldn't help for Michael to sense his misgivings. Michael was the boss and he was doctrinal about all things faith and their father's prophecy.

"As you wish Michael. I will go now out to the wastelands that you speak of and wait for the rift to appear. And as commanded I will not intervene but watch and report back. Nothing more but a secret watcher." With this declaration, Raphael give a quick bow and began to reverse slowly out of the command room and with a ruffle of feathers the Archangel Raphael disappeared – flying towards the wastelands to the west of the fortress. There he would hold vigil until the travellers arrived. Secretly waiting and silently watching.


	4. Chapter 4 - All along the watchtower p1

**About 12 months ago….**

Bored didn't cut it. It had been nearly two weeks. Two weeks of waiting and watching the tedious life of one insignificant mortal Robert Singer. All the hunter had managed to do was eat, sleep, piss, bark out a few orders and occasionally utter the word 'idjit'. To say Raphael was not impressed with his assignment was an understatement. _'What a poor use of my time. Why couldn't a seraph not do this or better still, why not a human spy? I'm an archangel and second in command of the armies of heaven and here I am babysitting a pathetic human and all at the behest of the visions of a jittery, spineless human prophet.'_ Raphael paused in thought. He needed to keep these thoughts in check. It was wrong and foolhardy to question the orders of Michael. There was a reason for every order that Michael give. And if it meant him standing watching a human then he would do it without further question. But he couldn't help have doubt – what were the odds of what the prophet witness coming to pass?

On locating Robert or as the other lowly life forms would call him Bobby Singer, Raphael had thought it best to stay close to ensure he didn't 'miss the event'. It wouldn't do to be in the wrong place when this went down or didn't go down! Michaels' orders had been clear. Stick to the human Robert Singer and watch for any plotting to open portals to other worlds. And if a rift or portal happened to materialise on its own Raphael's orders were to monitor what came through it and to report straight back. It was clear, there would be no angelic intervention when the 'visitors from the other universe would arrive'. Wait, watch and report. Simple!

He shuddered at what would happen if he failed to carry out his orders. Michaels' behaviour over the past few weeks had been bordering on obsessive, even for Michael. It had been such a long time since he had seen Michael act this way. Part of Raphael welcomed this renewed sense of purpose and part of him worried as the last time his brother was this engaged and animated Heaven went to war, Lucifer died and the world burned. A what was left – this bombed out, barren dust bowl. So much for heaven on earth!

Up until the prophets' vision, Michael had been bored and though he would never mention it out loud, Michael was acting depressed – after all what was left to conquer? Raphael had felt deep sympathy for Michael – well as much sympathy as someone like Raphael could offer someone. Michael had always been the dutiful son and despite doing everything asked of him, there had still been no sign of his father. It had to have been because things hadn't happened as they were supposed to – that must have been the reason their father didn't come back.

When the favourite brother Lucifer rebelled, Michael stood by his fathers' side and carried out his orders in full. Raphael had witnessed how Michael had cast aside all bonds of brotherhood with Lucifer and had thrown him out of heaven and down into the cage. He had watched as Michael closed the cage for his father to seal over for all time until the beginning of the end. Over the centuries he watched as Michael waited out the prophecy and he witnessed the shattering of what would have been Michael's heart when 'the vessels' were not born. After this, anger grew when Hell kicked started the apocalypse ignoring Gods' plan.

But worst of all, Raphael had witnessed the change in his brother as Lucifer fell to earth; wings on fire and took his last breath. As the smoke cleared and the shadowy remains of Lucifer's wings began to blow away in the wind, it was then that Michael changed. He became colder. Colder than ever before. Things got worse as it became obvious their father wasn't going to appear now that Lucifer was dead. It was like a steady blow to Michael's heart and a reminder that he had some how failed to do this correctly.

With this realisation, Michael turned his focus to destroying any rebellion in hell as well as ruling over humanity. And that war had went on and on for years, until all that was left was a few rebels and a barren dustbowl that was earth. With the decay of their fathers' creation, Michael had become disillusioned and without purpose, but all of it changed with the prophets new vision just 4 weeks ago. Hence the Archangels' current predicament of standing stock still and invisible as he spied on a cranky all human.

'Beepppppppppppppp!' Raphael was woken out of his thoughts by an irritating beeping sound which was swiftly followed by a 'Nee Nawh Nee Nawh!' Alarms were going off all around the humans' homestead. _'Well at last, maybe something is about to happen!'_

"Balls! What in hells bells is happening now?" Bobby bellowed out his annoyance at the loud alarms going off all around him. One of the younger kids who went by the name Terry or was it Kerry had let a yelp out and had run to cower in the nearest corner of the room. Bobby turned his focus back from the young boy who had the misfortune of being in the room when his warnings were triggered. "Barry, Terry, Kerry or whatever the hell your name is, there no need to cower boy, cause those bells are alarms that have been tripped way out in the Westlands. There's no need to get all scared and worked up, whatever tripped my alarms is at least 10 miles from here."

Bobby watched as the kid 'Terry' slowly got up and left his room. Bobby had not wanted to worry the boy but he couldn't help thinking about the alarms. _Nothing good ever came out of the Westlands to start off with never name it had to be some sort of power surge in order to set off the wardings and his alarms. I'd better go investigate.'_

Without further thinking, Bobby put his coat on and wrapped his head scarf up tight to cover his head and most of his face. It wouldn't be wise to be out and exposed as a human too much in the Westlands. There was way to many demons, monsters as well as angels flying about and any one of them would be only to happy to kill him or worse. Before leaving the relative safety of his home he grabbed holy water, his gun including angel killing bullets and his silver knife along with a few other weapons and began his long 10 mile trek out into what felt like wastelands. Little did the old hunter know that he had a silent shadow tailing him.

Raphael sensed the surge in power at least 2 miles before Bobby would actually physically see the rift. Making his mind up and without thinking too much on whether this was viewed as abandoning his post, Raphael flew, whilst invisible, directly towards the rift. On arriving his eyes widened. _'The prophet had been right. Something very powerful had somewhere come into existence and had punched a hole in the fabric of it's universe and this rift had been created. This cannot be a coincidence. It must be father's design.'_ With this realisation Raphael could no longer doubt Michael. Michael had been right. This was a sign. Their hard work and loyal support had paid off. God their father was giving them an amazing opportunity – one Raphael would fight tooth and nail to have Michael benefit from.

As if sensing the surge in power, the weather began to change and thunder and red lightening crashed and flashed across the sky. As Raphael looked closer at the rift that's yellowish light flashed, hummed and pulsed; he could see it was at least over seven foot tall, but how did you use it to travel? It was as he pondered this as well as other questions that there was a change in the rift as power seemed to surge and all of a sudden out of the light came through some sort of humanoid shape.

Tempted to appear, capture and then ask questions, Raphael held back from attack and kept himself in check. It wouldn't do to reveal his presence especially considering Michael's orders. So without any other purpose Raphael looked the off-worlder up and down and to his surprise he realised the new arrival was in fact an angel. But this one was not like any of the angels he knew. The wings were clipped or burned and the grace was a little battered, torn and frayed. Not to mention the uniform was one of peacetime earth clothing instead of the current angel army style uniform.

As Raphael ventured closer, he could see much clearer that this angel was an alternative universe version of their chief interrogator, Castiel. But the similarities ended with looks. It was the same vessel but everything else was different. No. No, it wasn't just different. It was wrong, it was a walking, talking blasphemy. Though still invisible, Raphael could feel his grace stir up in anger. This version of Castiel seemed tarnished and as he looked closer to within the angel's grace, Raphael saw something else. _'No.!.?! is that a bond? A profound bond?! And from the looks of the essence it's bonded to …. Is that human?'_

Raphael was bounced out of his internal monologing by a movement to his right. He watched in silence as a demon crept slowly towards this new version of Castiel. As red lightening flashed across the sky, followed by thunder, the new abomination that was 'Castiel' turned around taking in the new world. "Where?" Castiel seemed to turn further around and this question was followed by another whispered "How?" But this confusion didn't last long as he turned back when he heard a growling, snarling noise from behind him.

Taking in the demon in front of the angel, Raphael watched as one abomination moved closer to another and without fear and hesitation, took advantage of the dumb look on the angels' face. Caught by shock, the angel Castiel took a punch to his face and fell to the ground. The demon seemed to sense weakness and confusion so it moved closer. This pathetic version of an angel seemed to bring his arms up into a defensive position as if preparing to protect it's upper body and head. As the demon moved closer the angel looked up at the face and was confused. To Raphael, it looked as if this angel was not used to seeing demons like this.

But just as Raphael was enjoying the little fight, a loud 'bang' went off from further back. As the demon's face lit up signalling it was dying, both Raphael and Castiel looked towards the location of the gunshot to see a human moving slowly towards Castiel. Castiel narrowly moved out of the way as the demon fell and was now focusing all his attention on the arrival of his 'saviour' who was walking towards him, gun held ready to fire. It seemed Castiel was afraid as he used his elbows to push himself away from the approaching human, but stopped when he seemed to recognise the new arrival. Castiels' forehead creased up and softly he said: "You!"

Raphael considered intervening but realised the new arrival was none other than the mud monkey Robert Singer. The archangel watched as Singer cautiously approached the angel Castiel. At first, it looked like the human was going to shoot on sight, but Bobby Singer stopped short and raised his eyebrows as if confused. The human could tell that this angel lacked the coldness and necessarily skills to lash out and harm him. Singer seemed to be taking in Castiel's appearance. "Ears?! Emmm.".

Robert Singer moved from one foot to the other and in doing so, moved his gun into a different position. Though still pointed towards the angel, the gun seemed less threatening. "Ears? I do not know what you mean? I have ears. But Bobby. Bobby Singer – it's me, Castiel. Angel of the Lord. The one who raised Dean out of hell and…" Before Castiel could finish his sentence, Singer interrupted the babbling, "Baby ears! Normally you fly boys have baby ears for necklaces and come to think about it, you normally are kitted out like a soldier ready to fight. But despite your idjit ranting, you seem different. Less evil."

Castiel's mind seemed to catch up to being in an alternative world and began to speak, "Forgive me Mr Singer. I'm not sure why in any universe I would think wearing baby ears or any type of body part around my neck was acceptable, but please believe me when I say I'm a friend." Bobby frowned further and huffed out an 'Go on'.

"I am not from this world of dust, demons and death. I'm from a different world, were there wasn't any sort of apocalypse. Hmmm. …. I take it, the apocalypse happened and there was a war between heaven and hell?" On taking all this in, the human Singer seemed to smirk, "you really aren't from around here. Are yea?" The angel smiled up at the human for the first time since they had met and he continued, "in our world, the apocalypse was avoided and the devil and Michael were locked up in the cage. Some people died, but not the scale that seems to have happened in your world."

Raphael watched on as he witnessed something he didn't think he would ever see – a seasoned hunter seemed to be trusting an angel. This was wrong. No wonder Michael was obsessed with the vision. As he listened to the alternative world Castiel talk on about how the vessels had stopped their apocalypse and had caged Lucifer back up and imprisoned Michael. It was hard to believe and take in. Anger increased within the archangel. ' _How dare this pathetic excuse for an angel talk of such things. It can't be true? Surely no human soul could take back control from an archangel when it had taken control of its vessel? And what about the sword? Surely, the other world Michael was as strong as this world's Michael?'_

Intrigued and worried at the same time, Raphael watched on as human and angel spoke about their respective worlds. What seemed like well over an hour had passed when both began to move towards saying their goodbye. The human was already walking away from the rift, but something coming from the rift seemed to catch the angel Castiels' attention. As Castiel looked back towards the rift it seemed to flash and bang and it was then that he noticed something about the rhythm of the flashes and bangs. "Contractions! Oh my father, the nephilm opened this. The rift and the birth are connected! So much power coming into the world.! No wonder there was a rift in space and time."

Thinking he had no audience, Castiel looked at the retreating figure that was Bobby Singer and decided there and then that he wouldn't tell Kelly about the rift. Why should he? Kelly was most likely scared enough already. She didn't need to know this. And besides, if she was having connections, she already had too much on her mind to think about. Decision made, the angel Castiel moved towards the gateway back to his world. Looking back he paused as if he felt something, something familiar but not familiar. Raphael stopped moving and his eyes widened as he took in the look on Castiel's face. _'Could this Castiel sense his presence? Surely not. Castiel was a lowly seraph, nothing more.'_ The angel corrected his head tilt and turned and walked back through the gateway.

Minutes felt like hours, but Raphael took some time and mulled over the conversation he had just heard between the human and the angel and the information he had just learned. He knew the human had promised to stay close by, so he relaxed as he wasn't disobeying Michael or abandoning his mission. So many thoughts were running through Raphaels mind. _A nephilm… No an archangel's nephilm was about to be born. That would explain the rift and the power surge. But what about the mission?'_ Raphael was sure he now understood the source of the rift's power. But there was more to consider. _'Lucifer or the other world's Lucifer still existed and was free. And what about the vessels and especially the sword – all were freely walking and talking.'_

Raphael watched the rift hum and pulse. It seem strangely calming, but he wasn't fooled. He knew that at the other side of this rift there were a number of possible game changers in place. He knew this, because the prophet Kevin had foreseen it and Michael's very own gift of foresight was working again and already had sensed change coming and coming soon. It wasn't a matter of 'if' change was coming; it was a matter of 'when'.

Armed with the new information, Raphael chanced a quick report back to Michael. Spreading his extensive wings, he vanished and within seconds appeared outside Michael's fortress. "You. Minion." Raphael howled at the nearest angel. He didn't want to waste too much time away from the rift just in case someone else stepped through but Michael would appreciate that it had started. "Where's Lord Michael?".

The lowly sentry raised and turned her head of to the right of the fortress building. "Lord Raphael, Michael is alone, something about needing time to plan." At once, Raphael knew Michael had felt the rift come into being. Thankful for taking the decision to report, Raphael entered the fortress and made his way swiftly down the twisted corridors and through double doors into Michael's private chambers.

"Brother. It has started. The prophet was right. A rift has appeared and an seraph from another universe has stepped through." Raphael paused and took in his brother's movements. On hearing Raphaels' words, Michael seemed to breath out and relax. "Ahh. At last, it has begun." Michael stopped talking for a minute and his face looked like he was considering options. "Tell me, what caused the rift? What else did you see and hear?"

Feeling important, but not wanting to waste time pontificating, Raphael answered: "An angel came through. It was Castiel, but not like our Castiel. This Castiels' wings were clipped and his grace was tattered. The visitor met with Singer as Kevin foresaw." Raphael stopped to consider how to update Michael on the rest of the 'news'. "And Raphael? What of my sword?"

"Michael… Lucifer is alive. No, that's not correct. The other universes' Lucifer is alive and is just about to father a child. It is the child's birth that has opened the rift, which means that it won't stay open for long" Raphael stopped talking as he witnessed a change in Michael's body language.

"An archangel nephilm is coming into being. The power that is coming into existence is huge. Whoever controls this power could destroy everything, not just in that universe but in this one as well." Michael started to pace. He did this when he strategized. There were a number of options available to him. Everything from do nothing and let it be the other universe's problem to let's take the nephilm and the sword and invade this other shiny new world and this time do it right. Or even some sort of option that fell in between these two options.

Michael paused in his pacing. _'Lucifer alive. An archangel nephilm being born. A world untouched by an apocalypse and his sword still intact. All important and if left unchecked, all could impact on his plans for this world and for the other world.'_ His mind seemed made up, Michael turned to Raphael and issued his command: "Raphael – brother – go now back to the rift and wait. As Kevin's vision has foreseen, the sword will arrive along with my brother. We must not interfere, we must let it happened. Go stand and watch – and remember to not be seen."

With a nod of agreement, Raphael vanished.


	5. Chapter 5 - All along the watchtower p2

_Author note - apologies - for some reason I'm having trouble copying over onto the system. Fingers crossed that second time uploading will be the charm!_

 **Chapter 5: All along the watchtower – part two**

Bobby marched away from both the angel and the rift deep in thought. The last day or so had been strange. No wait, who was he trying to kid. The last two weeks had been different and at times damn creepy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but at times when he was alone, he felt eyes on him. But he figured that if nothing had happened in two weeks, then those eyes, at best, were either friendly (heaven forbid, even admiring) or at worst, not going to do anything too painful to him.

He had been already uneasy when the alarms and wardings went off, but the appearance of the tear in time and space along with his conversation with the 'visitor' left him unsure of what to think. 'Other universes, friendly angels, no apocalypses, no Michael. BULLCRAP!' Either way, it didn't matter if the angel was speaking the truth because this all spelt out trouble with a capital T.

The rift was bound to bring heavenly attention and if there was some powerful being out there that could create a tear in universes, then it wouldn't surprise him if Michael himself put in an appearance at some stage. And Michael appearing was all the good reasoning Bobby needed to stay far, far away from this shit.

There it was again. A slight shiver went up his spine. The angel Castiel had went back through the rift, but he could still feel eyes on him. Feeling uncomfortable, Bobby turned his attention to building some sort of mini look out station or camp so he could watch the rift for further movement, but from a position of comfort and safety. The angel Castiel hadn't been sure whether he would return, but it made good sense to keep watch. It wouldn't be good for anything from the other world to come through without his knowledge and possibly worse, it could be disastrous for anything from his world to escape through and cause chaos in the other 'peaches and cream' world!

Sighing in frustration he continued to make camp. With no further information and feeling a bit powerless, Bobby got in position for a long wait. He was getting to old for this crap, but there was nothing else he could do, but sit, wait and watch.

Whilst the mud monkey settled in for what Raphael knew was not a long wait, the archangel took the downtime to contemplate what was happening. His brother was adamant about not engaging when the 'off world' humans arrived. Part of Raphael felt they were being too cautious. 'Why not ambush both Lucifer and the humans whilst they were distracted? Why not travel through the rift and steal the nephilim when it was just born? All were good questions, so why did Michael choose to wait? What had he seen?' A sharp humming and fizzling sound was coming from the rift. Something was happening. The noise jolted the archangel out of his contemplation. It was happening again, something was coming through. Michael was correct. Without a second thought, Raphael flapped his wings and flew the short distance to the gateway to the other world to invisibly greet the 'special' guests.

The rift flared bright as three figures walked slowly out of the event horizon of the rift. Raphael recognised the angel Castiel, but it was the brightness of the soul that followed the angel that grabbed his attention. The archangel had never seen such as bright soul. It burned like the brightest light of heaven, it was almost blinding. As Raphael looked closer, he realised that this was the soul that shared the profound bond with the angel. Somehow they were connected. As Raphael processed this information, anger flared. This was Michaels sword, the righteous man and he was bonded to a lowly seraph. Fury ran through Raphael's blood. This would not stand. The bond would have to be destroyed and the human would have to learn his true important role – the role of being totally subservient and respectful towards his master and lord, Michael.

Raphael was so enthralled by Michael's true vessel that he missed Lucifer's vessel. A giant of a human that seemed to gravitate towards Michael's vessel. "Whow!" said the tall one, that Raphael learned his name was Sam. "Cas, what is this?" Raphael's mouth dropped open as he heard Michael's true vessel speak. Raphael took a second to probe into his mind and learned his name was Dean. This was really happening – both these tall men were Dean and Sam Winchester, the two true vessels. Both names were written down a long time ago as being important in bringing about heaven on earth or utopia. 'Michael is right. It is a sign. Our father has more work for us to do.'

Raphael was brought back, with the angel Castiel speaking. "As I said, it's earth but this earth is locked in eternal war between heaven and hell. There are armies of angels fighting hordes of demons. The few humans that remain are caught in between." As all three visitors looked round, the tallest Sam said: "How do you know that?" The angel continued sombrely. " A friend told me."

"Well good, now you're making friends." The righteous man was clearly shocked as he looked around and took in the desolate world. He continued, " Alright. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this?" The taller brother turned, "I don't know. I gotta say. A hole in reality to a bombed out apocalypse world. Emm. I'm going go with an 11." Michael's sword seemed to agree with his brothers assessment, "Sounds right."

As Raphael watched the interactions between the three visitors, the seraph Castiel spoke up to try and alley the brothers fears a bit, "you don't have to worry. The child, he opened this door. He will close it." The archangel was interested at the dynamics within the small group. Castiel seemed to lean towards trusting the spawn of Lucifer, whereas Michael's sword was much more righteous as he seemed annoyed with his friends' blind optimism in the unborn son of the devil. "Are you sure about that?"

The angel snapped out "I have faith." This was quickly followed with the 'sword' (because let's face it, the human's soul and body was only important for one thing, powering Michaels true vessel. No need to connect more with it and call it by its' name) stating, "Really?! In your unborn baby god?" The angel seemed annoyed but used to the banter as he shook his head in annoyance, "Yes". Before the angel could expand, the 'sword' fired back, "well then you're a dumb ass!"

Caught up in the conversation between the bonded pair, Raphael nearly missed the movement coming from 50 or so yards to the east. All of a sudden the brother Sam alerted both the 'sword' and Castiel to movement to the right. Out of the misted wasteland, all three and the archangel watched as a greying figure walked towards the group. "Guys? Guys!" Sam shouted to the others as he raised his gun. This was followed by the 'sword' demanding, "hey. Hands in the air."

As both brothers worked in tandem, Raphael could see how close they were. In fact, he could see how close all three visitors were. The 'sword' was well supported and more importantly connected and protected. Michael was right not to rush in and grab his vessel. There was so much more they needed to understand before heaven would act.

Castiel raised his hand and said "Don't". Amazingly, both brothers listened to the seraph, but still were suspicious of the figure coming towards them. The older brother stared as the grey figure walked towards him. He seemed extremely nervous as the figure, which seemed like a man came closer to the group. Raphael knew who the figure was, but he watched as the visitors took in the appearance of the human. As they looked on, Raphael compared the visitors to the human. He could understand their surprise. The man looked like a survivor of a some sort of nuclear attack. Singers' clothes were dirty, tattered and torn and the head scarf covered most of his head and face, shielding his identity from the group.

Just before the figure raised his hand to sweep back the scarf from his face, Sam tilted his head slightly to the side as if he had the strangest feeling he knew this figure, but he wasn't sure. The man in one smooth movement removed the scarf and Raphael watched as both brothers' hearts stopped. "Bobby !?" The taller Winchester spoke out. It was clear both brothers were in complete shock. Inpatient with trying to understand what was actually going on Raphael began to probe into their minds. It was clear both were in shock, but it was due to them recognising the man as one of a fatherly figure. 'What are the odds, that the two brothers would come across someone they knew.' Raphael delved deeper as the humans tried to rationalise the situation. This Bobby looked like their friend and loved one, but it was and wasn't him. Both brothers lowered their guns but couldn't take their eyes off the long lost friend in front of them.

Red lightening flashed across the sky and thunder rained down and Singer looked upon the two new visitors that had come through with the friendly angel and frowned, "do I know you?" The younger brother edged forward and as he pointed to each of the group, he said, "Sam. Dean. Cas." Singer nodded and acknowledged the introductions. "Aha… You say that as if it's supposed to mean something to me but… nah." Castiel turned and spoke to the younger brother, "Sam. This is Bobby but it's not your Bo…" Before Castiel could continue, the 'Sword' cut in and finished the name, "Bobby. It's us! Sam and Dean Winchester!"

Singer shook his head in disagreement. "The only Winchester I ever heard of was John." The younger brother Sam cut in then, "John Winchester – our father." Bobby looked at both men in slight surprise and said, "doubt it. He's dead. Been dead over 40 years now. The only reason I know about it is this hunter I ran with… Mary Campbell. You get a few pints of Cheyenne in her and she always told the same story about the man she loved John Winchester. Azazel killed her about 10 years ago."

Normally a bunch of mud monkeys standing around spewing dribble bored Raphael, but this information was important. It explained a lot, especially as to why their apocalypse failed. Who would have thought, two insignificant humans could make such a difference. The early death of one man could stop heaven's mightiest general from taking to the battle field in his true vessel. 'Heaven may have won, but what did they win? This dust bowl of misery and no sight of God.'

The thought of his father's memory seemed to trigger something within Raphael and it made him look closer at the two brothers. As he looked into both their soul and their mind, he could see something swirling around. Something that felt familiar….. After a while, it dawned on him… 'No.. It couldn't be.' Raphael was sensing his fathers' presence etched on the souls of both humans. That was not possible. Probing deeper into their minds, he stopped suddenly when he came across the memory of his father and his aunt, Amara. Raphael was more than surprised. He was intrigued as to how two lowly mud monkies would be honoured to be in the presence of God. It must be a sign!

Raphael was nudged out of his thoughts as the older brother seemed to take in the information and the younger one said, "Cas, what the hell is this?" The angel looked around and replied, "This is a world were you were never born." There was silence amongst the three as the boys weighed up the gravity of the statement. Singer looked on as Castiel continued, "It's a world you never saved." Sam and Dean seemed to scan around the desolate world and like Raphael, both humans began to realise the magnitude of their mother's decision to take Azazel's deal all those years back. It wasn't lost on either Dean or Sam now about why Mary's decision to save John may have lead to what happened to Sam and he was right to forgive her, but by doing this selfish act, their mother had saved an entire world.

Singer walked around the group of visitors and then he moved towards the opening of the rift. "When this whatever opened up all sorts of alarms went off back at my place. I got here just in time to see your boy here get ambushed by a temper demon". Dean interrupted. "A what?" The angel turned to his right towards Dean and clarified, "black eyes, pointed teeth, horns…" Sam was listening away and on hearing this description, he turned with some interest and concern, "Demons have horns now?" This was followed by Dean's statement "Whole new world Sam."

Singer walked back towards the visitors and said, "usually I gun down fly boys on sight but ahh…" the older man shrugged his shoulders… "he looked different. He wasn't wearing a necklace made out of baby ears for one thing." Castiel continued, "we got talking about where I came from and our two worlds." Before Castiel could continue, Singer stated, "from what he says, it's pretty much peaches and cream on your side."

The older Winchester looked from his angel to the older man, "I wouldn't say that but it's better than this." Singer wasn't so sure, "Eh. I don't know. It aint so bad here if you like killing angels." The younger Winchester seemed a little uneasy and even taken back by the comment and said, "And you do?" The older hunter continued, 'well heck it's my hobby, my passion." Robert Singer took a deep breath and continued, "I figured it's only a matter of time before them dicks upstairs get wind of this and when they show me and Rufus go to work." At that comment, Singer lifted up his gun and cocked the weapon. "He's loaded with a 100 rounds cast from old angel blades.

This new information seemed to animate the 'sword', "wait! Angel killing bullets! AWESOME." At this comment, the angel Castiel turned and glared at him.

Raphael couldn't help to smile just a little at the 'swords' way of thinking. Just like his leader and brother Michael, the true vessel was looking at the most efficient and effective ways to kill the enemy. But unlike Michael, the vessel, or 'Sword' as his mind kept reminding him, tended to favour humour instead of aggression as a way of controlling a situation.

The archangel stood invisible and silent as he watched the conversation filter out and as the prophet had seen, the visitors would go back through the rift. But they would not stay gone for long. They would return and they would return with another and this person was important. Though, it went against Raphael's instinct. An instinct that was strongly tempted to steel away the 'sword' and bring this gift back to his brother Michael. But he stopped himself from doing this as Michael had been very clear – he had to remain unseen and unheard and to let this play out as the prize down the line was much bigger.

So it was seen… so it would come to pass.

Raphael watched the retreating backs of the visitors as they passed through the rift back to their home world. A little part of Raphael wanted to cross over and see for himself what the other world was like. He had a few images flash across his pathway as he gently probed the Winchesters' minds. Highlights (as such) included, Michael's fall into the cage, Lucifer's imprisonment and escape and their fathers' return. To say nothing of Amaras' freedom. But it was the images that were at the foremost of their minds – the pending birth of Lucifer's son and the inevitable meeting with 'daddy Lucifer.

As Raphael processed the scant bits of information he had gleamed from the visitors minds, Michaels orders became clearer. The mission became more important as he took in the bombed out apocalypse world that had been created. There was a chance to begin again and do it better. Armed with these thoughts Raphael decided to make himself comfortable and wait for the 'main' event that Michael or more specifically, Kevin had foretold. He knew it wouldn't be long to wait.

Raphael was so deep in thought going over Kevin's vision and in particular what was expected to happen quite soon, that he almost missed the arrival of the next 'guest'. The rift flared up and spat out a short suited man, no demon. Sorely tempted to smite the abomination, Raphael held back and watched as the demon in the dark suit scurried away from the rift's event horizon and towards a mound of gravel and dirt. The demon seemed to be focused on something. At first, Raphael thought he was running, but when the demon ran behind the mound, then stopped and crouched down, the archangel realised he was hiding and getting ready to prepare something.

Torn between observing the creation of some sort of spell and watching the rift, Raphael's curiosity got the better of him and he moved closer. The demon seemed annoyed as he began to set up what look like a powerful spell. Mumbling about 'lack of faith' and 'once again taking one for the team', the demon began to pour ingredients into a dish.

As Raphael looked on, he began to recognise the type of spell that was being executed. He was particularly impressed by what was being attempted, especially as a high price would have to be paid to close the rift. As the demon continued to 'bitch out' everyone from the Winchesters, to angels and in particular to Lucifer, the rift began to fluctuate and Raphael moved to a better position so he could 'watch the show!'

It happened so fast. In a blink of an eye, Raphael saw the first Winchester, the 'sword', run out from the rift towards a larger boulder. He was followed quickly by the taller younger brother. The 'sword' seemed to shout over to the demon, "are you ready Crowley. Lucy's about to enter Mad max world. Here goes nothing!" Raphael stopped watching the smooth movement of the 'swords' body as he felt the presence of his brother Lucifer or the other universes' version arrive.

"Niiiccccee" purred out of the devils mouth and the flash of lightening seemed to add theatrics to the situation. The taller one stepped up behind Lucifer and said "you wanted the apocalypse, you got it." Lucifer looked on his true vessel "Sammy hey. Where's your big bro?"

Raphael was impressed at the bravery of Michaels' sword. Going up directly against Lucifer. He was only human after all. The sword stood upright and turned, "Right here!" Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and smirked. "ooohhh sweet toy." But his attempts to belittle were met with iron will. "yeahhh. I got it off and old", the elder Winchester seemed to stop and consider what he had said and then correct himself "new friend of mine. See, we have this bet. See if it works against an archangel. So. Say hello to my little friend."

With these words, the 'sword' raised the gun and prepared to shoot. The younger brother seemed to realise his brother was about to open fire so he ran out of the way. Then it clicked with Raphael what was happening. To his arrogant brother, it would seem the human was running for cover but he was running with a destination in mind – to meet up with the demon and finish the spell.

'What a brave little ant you are' thought Raphael as Michaels vessel stepped into the fray and opened fire on Lucifer. Raphael could tell how the sword relished killing, or at least, trying to kill Lucifer. 'Well, that's one more thing the vessel has in common with Michael. Ahh, surely this is meant to be! The connection will be so strong. Brother Michael you are so lucky – he will complete you.' With this thought, Raphael felt a little covetous. The apocalypse had taken heaven by surprise and in the rush the angels had had to find and locate vessels and with so little time to do so, they often didn't get a chance to pick their favourite or even the best one. But here and now, Michael had been presented with his true vessel. One that had seemed lost to time and decisions, was now here and so perfect.

Raphael had to shake himself from his reverie as he turned his attention to what the other human and the demon were doing. "Took you long enough" said the demon, but the younger brother just ignored the snarky comment and replied, "I don't know Crowley…. Come on!" The demon Crowley threw some more stuff into the bowl and listened out for when the gunshots would end.

It was the silence that alerted Raphael to a change in circumstance for the 'sword'. Dean had continued to unload the machine gun magazine of angel killing bullets into Lucifer. Frustrated that the bullets weren't having the effect he wished he said, "Sam, come on!" Realising it was futile, the 'sword' stopped firing and looked directly at Lucifer. Raphael smirked a little as he realised how pissed off his brother was as his glowing red eyes give away his feelings.

The 'sword' must have realised that he was quickly running out of options and decided to 'go for broke' as he decided to continue firing, which he did until the gun jammed. It was clear to Raphael that panic was setting in as the 'sword' kept cocking the gun to see if it would unjam, but to no such luck.

Meanwhile, as Raphael looked over his shoulder towards the demon and human, he overheard, the demon say "we do this ritual and seal that rift and we lock the devil in this god forsaken place. That's the plan. Remember? Two birds! One spell." As the younger brother looked over the mound of dirt to see how his brother was doing in distracting the devil, he said: "right. Right. Just hurry!"

As Raphael's attention floated back towards Lucifer and the 'swords' futile attempts at fighting, Raphael took in Lucifer's body language and he could see that his brother shared a similar awe when it came to the human in front of him. Both Lucifer and Raphael had to give the older Winchester points out of ten for trying. It wasn't stupidity. It was bravery. 'He had to know that he had no chance against an archangel, never name Lucifer, but he tried.' As if thinking the same, Lucifer smoothly purred out, "You lose" as the archangel marched forward towards the 'sword' whilst his brother looked helplessly on the scene.

Lucifer grasped the machine gun out of the 'swords' hands and thrust it back into the humans' face stunning him. The archangel then clinched his fits and raised and began to punch. Raphael looked on, knowing he couldn't intervene but he could hear bones crack. He watched on as the 'sword' staggered back. He was clearly no match for those powerful punches the devil layered on him.

As the human fell backwards clearly dazed, Raphael could hear the demon and younger brother continue on with the spell. "That's the sea brain, mercury, lambs' blood holy oil… right that's it. Here we go!" Sam double checked as the demon added the ingredients into the ritual dish. Meanwhile, as Raphael looked back, he couldn't believe that the 'sword' was still standing whilst Lucifer continued to punch him.

"That's the last of it" said Sam. It seemed the spell was ready as the demon stared down at the ingredients and seemed to sigh, "No. it's not.". The younger Winchester looked up directly at demon in surprise – "What!?". Crowley spoke up, "to heal that rift we need one more minor ingredient…. A life." The human seemed shocked, "What?"

Meanwhile Lucifer kept kicking the 'sword', finding it therapeutic to continue kicking and beating on the older brother. It was at this stage, Raphael sensed the long history between Lucifer and these humans. The hatred and frustrations that such lowly and insignificant creatures could undermine and stop an archangel, never name the 'Morning Star'.

The 'sword' continued to defend himself as he turned slightly on to his front and spat out blood. Lucifer smiled, "Ahhh, I could do this all day. You make such funny noises." Whilst Lucifer snorted and gloated, the 'sword' was wheezing badly. He couldn't take much more. Lucifer bent over him and smirked down, poised ready to strike yet another blow when he felt a force pushing him back and off his feet.

Whilst Raphael had been 'entertained' by the fight scene, he had not noticed the demon moving out from behind the mound to stand and face off against Lucifer. The demon smoothly spoke up, "Ah Ah AH Surprise!" Lucifer was still lying on his back when the demon announced his arrival. When Lucifer realised who had interrupted the beat down on one of his favourite human playthings, Lucifer raised his head and giggled uncontrollable, " Crowleeeeyyyy."

The younger human used the demon's introduction to run over to his brother and help lift him up and drag him towards the rift in order to make their escape. It was clear to Raphael the spell was ready and the humans were about to depart, trapping Lucifer on this world. 'Here we go and just as the prophet foresaw.' It was during Raphael's musings that Lucifer got back on his feet just as both brothers steadied themselves. Lucifer refocused his attention back on the demon, "you sneaky little… so I get to kill you twice."

Unphased, the demon Crowley spoke up, "I doubt it." But Lucifer continued, "no, you had your chance. You could have put me back in the cage but you had to make it personal didn't you? Accepting the statement, Crowley chose to agree, "you're right, it is personal. You humiliated me." As he spoke, the demon stepped closer and closer towards Lucifer. "I… I hate you…. Deeply…. Truly… It was clear now to Raphael that there was history between the two and he had a feeling what was coming next. "I'm going to enjoy wiping that smug self-satisfied look off your face."

Lucifer grinned and raised his hands to his mouth, "you mean this one?" The archangel's reply seemed to spare the demon on as he released an angel blade from within his sleeve. Lucifer caught the movement and smiled, "Crowley you know whatever you try, you're going to lose." The devil looked Crowley in the eyes and was still unaware of what was going to happen.

Crowley looked on and said "you're right" and then looked back at the two brothers and said, "bye boys". With determination, the demon turned the blade on himself and thrust it deep into his chest. He let out a deathly gasp as orange / red light omitted from his chest and then passed out as the lifeless meatsuit fell to the ground.

Suddenly, it seemed all that observed this act of sacrifice took something from this. Lucifer looked shocked that Crowley would hate him this much. The two humans looked shocked that he would sacrifice himself for them but Raphael looked on. He saw something else, he saw how powerful the draw of these two human souls were and particular the power and draw the 'sword' had. 'Michael was right. To rush in would be a grave error. There would be opportunity to learn more about the vessel, the other world and everything else that was needed to take control.

As Crowley collapsed a flash of light came from the rift's event horizon. It was clear the rift was beginning to close. The spell was working. But before the two humans moved to return to their world, the angel Castiel came striding through with the clear mission of striking a blow against Lucifer. It was clear to Raphael there was a strong connection between the angel and the 'sword' as the human shouted, "Cas. Cas!" But he was stopped from going to help the angel as his younger brother grabbed his arm and said, "no, no, no, no, no… we gotta go." And with that, the 'sword' was pulled back through the rift and disappeared.

Raphael looked on as he knew it would be the last he would see of Michaels' vessel for some time. But it was the commotion between the seraph Castiel and his brother that caught his attention. It looked as if the angel was winning as he stabbed Lucifer. But the rift was beginning to close and the angel knew he had to leave. Turning his back against Lucifer was always a mistake, but time was of the essence.

Raphael watched Castiel travel back through the rift, but knew it would not end well as Lucifer moved to followed. Here was the moment of truth as Raphael had to keep faith that Lucifer would come back through, as prophesized, and right on the mark, Lucifer fell back through the rift again onto the ground. But this time he was not alone. A woman was with him.

The rift began to close and then through one last energy pulse it closed leaving both the human female and Lucifer trapped in a different universe. Raphael watched as both realised what had happened. Lucifer was the first to react, "No. NO. NO. NOOOOOOOOO!" He was furious and the nearest person to vent his anger to lay in front of him. He grit his teeth and then his eyes glowed red as he glared at the woman. It was then that Raphael realised who it was – Mary Winchester.

Armed with the new information, Raphael smiled. 'This is perfect for so many reasons. Thank you Michael. You are right as always. Now we start to plan.'


	6. Chpt 6 And with the 'rising sun' comes a

**Chapter 6: And with the 'rising sun' comes a new dawn!**

Raphael stood watching as his brother screamed at the human female. He could sense the frustration rolling off Lucifer and for one moment he thought the human was about to be obliterated from the face of the planet. But in the absence of having foresaw what happens next, Raphael was at a loss as to what to do. Should he intervene or should he let it happen? He didn't really care about the human, but did she have a role to play that he didn't know about?

Whilst Raphael considered his next steps, he noticed Lucifer shift his anger towards a large boulder. It didn't last long as it was crushed to pieces with a snap of his fingers. Lucifer looked directly at the human and he seemed to contemplate his words very carefully. After a few minutes thinking over his options, Lucifer changed his facial expression from one of clear anger to one that look like he accepted his fate. Inhaling deeply, Lucifer turned to the human and with his usual cocky game face on, he said, "Well mamma Winchester it looks like it's me and you now on this god forsaken shit hole of a world and we're going to stick together. Come on, lets get moving as I guess there's not going to be another rift magically appear whilst we stand here."

Without waiting for, or expecting a reply, Lucifer grabbed the human and began to march off towards whatever destination existed out in the barren land. It was clear, he was going to use this walking time to work out a plan.

Meanwhile, back at Michael's fortress…

Michael opened his eyes and shook his limbs loose. He had been standing in the one position for well over 2 hours and as his mind closed off his link to the events that had just occurred, he welcomed the opportunity to move more. Thankfully none of the angels had interrupted him during his 'out of body experience', but he knew that Raphael would soon report back with news that would help him complete the picture of what he had just seen.

Though he had seen a lot of what had happened, firstly via Kevin's vision and secondly through his own gift of sight, he welcomed his brother Raphael's observation and counsel. The other archangel could be rigid at times, but Raphael had the ability to provide good war advice when it came to tactics and strategy. Raphael also had the added bonus of not being too 'close' in this case. But it wasn't his brother's expertise in strategy that Michael was looking forward to hearing about. He was keen to get his brother's first impression of what went down and who the players were? And in particular, he wanted a better read on his true vessel.

Kevin's original vision had not made it clear who was marooned on this world never name that it could be Lucifer. Instead, Michael had been more interested in getting to the other world and getting to his vessel. This thought had consumed his thinking from the very start, so much so, Michael had given very little time to who else had come through the rift and now were currently plodding across dunes.

The rustle of feathers alerted Michael to his brothers' arrival. Michael didn't bother to turn and formally acknowledge the other archangel, instead he chose to focus on the view from his fortress window. After a minute of silence, Raphael spoke up. "Brother, I've learned much since our last meeting. It seems that the timeline in the other universe is very different from ours. Not only did the vessels be born, but the apocalypse, though started, was averted by the human vessels. So much has happened including our father returning and Amara being released."

Raphael thought it best to report everything and then discuss options, so he continued "Lucifer was caged again but released and has fathered a child. It is the child's birth that created the rift and now I believe the vessels have once again defeated our brother as he's now imprisoned in our universe. The question now is, what do we do next?"

Michael couldn't help but grin. In a few minutes he bore witness to such feats. He could be nothing but in awe. If he was to believe his brother then his 'sword' – the righteous man – had achieved so much. 'Who would have thought a hairless ape could beat his brother not once but on a number of occasions; free aunt Amara and then avert the end of the universe by getting her and their dad to make up. It beggers belief!'

"Where to start Raphael?" Raphael was surprised at Michael's question. Had he not heard him correctly? Surely Lucifer running around their world was the immediate threat? Followed by such a power source in another universe that had the potential to open up a gateway to any other world including their own. "Brother, we need to contain and destroy Lucifer like we did with our original Lucifer. Having him running around earth could bring whatever demon factions in hell together and this could start a new military campaign. It's not great timing, what with the human resistance beginning to organise and fight back."

"Raphael. Who is the human female with Lucifer?" Raphael turned to his brother. He had not expected this question. " Emmm. She's… emmm…. from what I gather, she fell through the rift with our brother after the vessels and the angel Castiel returned to their world. I'm not sure but our brother referred to her as mamma Winchester."

On hearing this news, Michael turned quickly away from Raphael and started to pace again. 'Could it be that Mary Winchester was here. The mother. Such a source of information. Such a bargaining chip down the line.'

As Michael continued to pace back and forth, Raphael tried to make sense of Michaels questioning. What was he thinking about? But he couldn't really see it. Surely Lucifer and the nephilim were the priority. Not some insignificant human female. Edging closer to his brother, Raphael spoke up. "Michael! Brother! I'm not sure where your thinking is going, but Lucifer, or the alternate Lucifer is walking free in our world. Do you wa…." Michael stopped Raphael from finishing his sentence. "I know. I know and if this is truly our brother, then we will deal with him. But with so much information, maybe we need to give this some more thought."

Raphael was uneasy. Irrespective of which Lucifer this was, to have their brother walking and breathing in this universe was dangerous. It was too risky. As if reading his mind, Michael reached out and in what could have been seen as a brotherly pat of assurance, Michael tapped his arm and said: " Lucifer will be dealt with. He will be contained. Yes, I said contained, because there is so much we could learn from this version of our brother. So much about the nephilim, the other universe as well as about the vessels (or one of the vessels in particular). If we are serious in our next steps, then information is critical. But I will not be rushed. I need time to think, so let Lucifer spend a day or so walking, just make sure he doesn't come across any locals. Keep an eye on him and soon and I mean very soon, we will take him prisoner."

Raphael knew there was no further discussion or debate to be had so he bowed and confirmed the order would be carried out. In another rustle of feathers, he disappeared, flying back towards Lucifer and the human to await orders and possible reinforcements.

1 day later, somewhere amongst the sand and dust dunes…..

Thunder rolled across the grey, lifeless sky. The weather had been like this for the last day as both Lucifer and Mary walked. Mary was tired. Lucifer seemed to be content to walk and talk but like the conversation, the destination had no point to it. 'Strange, that we've not come across another living being since arriving?' And the world and landscape seemed to stay the same. Mary couldn't help thinking about what type of war had taken place to produce such as barren, lifeless landscape.

As they walked down (or in Mary's case slide down), yet another mound of soil, Lucifer lead the way. He was getting irritated as he hadn't come across much life and the only entertainment was Mary Winchester. And sadly, he needed her alive, but for what, he was still not too sure yet.

"Mary. Not to be critical but if we're ever going to find a way out of here, we gotta pick up the pace. We've got a lotta ground to cover." Lucifer clicked his fingers, his inpatience was showing. As Raphael hovered invisible nearby, he could see that his brother had more energy and drive and was determined to find a way back to his universe. On the other hand, Mary was exhausted and the looks and glances that she was sending Lucifer showed how frustrated, annoyed and peeved she was. As if reaching some sort of decision, she decided to sit down to rest. "I'm not sure I see the point since… no matter how this plays out, you're going to kill me."

Looking around him and with his back to Mary, Lucifer responded, "Why would I kill you? Oh, that's right, because I'm evil! Let me tell you a couple of things… You don't get to defy God and beat the cage without having a modicum of intelligence. Alrightttt! A game plan. I.e. I don't want you dead because I need you alive."

Mary sighed and the look on her face told Raphael that she was trying to compute what was going to happened next. Lucifer ignored her and moved his hands about as he continued, "in a perfect world I'd probably kill you and your plotting sons. But, life isn't fair. Your sons have my boy. Soooo. I'm going to exchange you for my son."

Raphael listened intently. 'So this is his plan!? But how is he going to communicate with the Winchesters in another world never name exchange the mother for his nephilim son?' As Raphael pondered this further he almost missed Mary's response, "you can't possibly care about raising a child?" But he definitely listened as he heard Lucifer whisper in response, "you have no idea what I care about."

Everyone was shook out of their current position (including Raphael) by the sound of a bomb falling towards them. Looking upward, a fire ball came hurtling across the sky towards both Lucifer and Mary. Both 'visitors' jumped in different directions to get out of the way as the fireball exploded as it collided with the ground.

Raphael looked on as Mary Winchester used the distraction to attempt to make her escape. Raphael knew she wouldn't get too far so he saw no reason to worry, but he did take the arrival of the fire ball as a sign from Michael that something was happening. 'Was Michael getting ready to capture their brother? Probably. I will stay here and see what happens next.' Raphael give a quick thought to making himself known to Lucifer but realised the element of surprise was more important and the less this Lucifer knew about this world the better.

As the dirt and smoke dispersed, Lucifer stood up and fixed the lapels on his leather jacket. He tried to take in what had just happened, "What the hell?!" Then he realised that his bargaining chip, Mary Winchester had disappeared. He shouted out in anger, "MARY!"

It didn't take long for both an invisible Raphael and a very visible Lucifer to figure out what direction she had run off. Raphael flew on ahead and watched as she stumbled unarmed and with no plan down another sand dune and all with the hope of coming across someone who could help her.

Raphael kept one eye on the human and the other on Lucifer for what seemed over an hour. Mary Winchester was tired and as she walked amongst boulders she came across decaying bodies. It was Raphael first, who sense movement ahead of her. All of a sudden a man stood up from behind a large rock and raised a gun. The hunter in Mary, realised she was in a weak position, so she raised her hands and bowed her head slightly to appear less threatening and more compliant.

The insignificant mud monkey spoke up, " Who the hell are you?" He raised his gun as Mary told him her name. As she raised her face to meet his eyes, she added, "Mary Winchester. I'm a hunter." The man seems to snort a little in surprise. "I doubt it". He looked her up and down and slowly began to edge forward, closer to her. "Come here? You don't walk like an angel. They all walk as if they've sticks up their assess." As the man spoke he reached into his pocket and pulled out a hip flask. He removed the lid and threw what Mary took to be holy water into her face. "Not a demon neither."

The human male was realising that she was in fact a human and a pretty one at that as his eyes took in Mary Winchester's body. Raphael could sense that Mary was becoming more than just unamused, but uneasy. "I told you." Mary was interrupted by the male human "I never met a female hunter. Not many women around since the wars began."

Mary seemed to lift her head in interest at his statement. "Wars?" The human was taken by surprise, "what rock you been living under?" Mary recovered quickly, realising she needed to not draw any more attention than necessary. "I'm not from around here. I don't know anything. I just got attacked by some sort of fire ball or something."

The man began to smile and then laughed, but Mary could sense the insincerity of it. "Angels! They're always taking shots." Edging closer to Mary, "maybe I can help you find your way?" Mary sensed him looking at her and not in a good way. Raphael watched as she started to move backwards to put as much space between them as possible. But the male human wasn't stupid, seeing how Mary was getting ready to run, he grabbed her arm. "Let's keep this friendly, huh?"

Raphael watched as Mary Winchester swung a punch at the mud monkey. They struggled and he pushed her to the ground. It was when the man raised his gun to shoot, that Raphael questioned whether it was time to intervene. But he was beaten to it, as Lucifer punched through the humans chest with his fist. The loud crunching sound, was followed by the spraying of blood. Raphael laughed as he watched the look of shock on the man's face as he collapsed to the ground.

Realising that no more punches were coming her way, Mary looked up and into the face of her 'rescuer'. Lucifer stood towering over her with a bored look on his face. The archangel studied Mary and he wriggled his now bloodied fingers. "you're welcome! Eh. Mary, in case you didn't notice. You left without me." Lucifer fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice, but couldn't, so raising his voice he yelled, "What is wrong with you? We need each other. This is a win-win situation. OK, we get out of this theme park – we both get our boys back."

Raphael found the conversation amusing as the female glared at his brother Lucifer. At that moment, both archangels could see where the vessels got their stubborn streak from. As Lucifer rolled his eyes, it was clear to him that his words were not working, so he thought 'actions speak louder than words.' With this thought, he snapped his fingers and Mary cried out in pain as she folded and bent over in agony. Lucifer began to make circular motions with his index finger as if counting how long to keep her in pain and as quick as it started, the pain stopped. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist." With Lucifer's facial expression, it was clear there was to be no more discussion and Mary seemed to accept that she had no choice – for now!

It wasn't long after this, that Raphael began to consider the next steps. He watched as both Lucifer and Mary kept walking and when they talked, it was mildly amusing, but his amusement was quickly disappearing. It was at some stage on day two that Raphael chanced a mind lock with his brother Michael. After all, he needed to know what was going to happen next. His call was answered by Michael immediately and he was informed that the decision to lift Lucifer and the human had been made, but under strictest of orders, Raphael was not to make himself known to his brother.

Annoyed that he wouldn't get a chance to speak his mind to Lucifer, never name play a more physical part in capturing his brother, Raphael reluctantly continued to remain invisible and observe. He was trying to work out why Michael did not want him to engage directly, but knowing Michael there was probably a very good reason for this. So Raphael observed the two bicker as they marched on. He was waiting to see how Michael would approach Lucifer.

Turning his attention back to both Lucifer and Mary, he heard Lucifer start to bully the human. "are you tired? Really?! You know what, let me tell you a couple of things. First of all, we've got to blow this taco stand before who knows what happens to my son. And second all, you're the reason we're stuck in this literally god forsaken place in the first place, so I'm sorry you're tired." Lucifer began to mock Mary, "It's not my fault you were born a wimpy little human with your wimpy little lungs and your weak little legs."

Whilst Lucifer continued with his mocking, Mary looked on at his childish behaviour before noticing that there were five figures up ahead of them. Lucifer hadn't seen them yet, as he had turned towards her to tell her not to say another word on the trip. It was when he was speaking that he realised he didn't have 100% of Mary's attention so he turned and immediately his hands open and wide apart raised his eyes to the sky and said, "ah, just what I need… angels!" Lucifer lowered his hands and looked directly at the group and specifically towards the lead angel.

As Lucifer said, "Hey!". The lead angel began to approach Lucifer and Mary cautiously. "I sense a creature that stinks of hell." Lucifer could not believe the arrogance or was it ignorance of these angels, so he decided to continue in his mocking fashion, "oh yeah, that would be her." Lucifer had no sooner spoken when the angel shouted, "false!"

Raphael looked on with a confused look on his face. Surely Michael had informed the angels of who they were being sent to intercept? After some thought, it dawned on Raphael what Michael was doing. 'Clever brother. Testing to see what this Lucifer is capable off first, before engaging directly. Also, not letting on to anyone what we know already. Emm – what do you have in store for these two?' It was clear that Michael did not want to smite his brother just yet which meant the objective was bigger than continuing a fight with his brother Lucifer.

Raphael was brought out of his own thoughts when Lucifer laughed, "I'm pretty sure I'm Lucifer. Do you wanna tell them who I am?" Raphael held his breath as he knew if Lucifer reverted to form, his patience would soon run out and he was rewarded when he watched Lucifer snap his fingers and disintegrate all five angels in seconds. All without breaking a sweat.

Raphael immediately reported to Michael that the 'cannon fodder' had been destroyed. Their brother was all powerful and Michael's intervention would be needed. Raphael had no sooner reported this when he sense the archangel travelling towards them at great speed.

As the female rose to her feet, Lucifer turned to her, "was he kidding? Even in the land of bizarre an angel isn't going to try to…" Lucifer was interrupted out of his speech by a noise that was hurtling through the air towards them. It was another fire ball, but this time much, much bigger than the others. It landed or crashed right in front of them. As both cowered to protect themselves from any debris, Lucifer shouted, "Ahh come on!" But Lucifer focused in on the smoke and as it started to clear he could see a shape with really large dark wings appear and unfold out.

Lucifer watched with interest a the figure, a tall man, began to walk or was stroll with confidence towards them. Raphael smiled as he watched Lucifer take in Michael's arrival as he tried to work out who and/or what this was. It was clear as Michael stopped in front of Mary and Lucifer, that Lucifer was beginning to work out who had just arrived.

"Don't you know me? Brother!" As Michael finished his introduction, Lucifer scrunched up his face as he tried to recognise who was actually standing in front of him and then it dawned on him, "Michael?"

Michael walked around them taking in his brother but inadvertently taking in the female human – the mother of his true vessel. Even standing this close he could sense the connection the pull towards the bloodline. From the visions, he could see how his 'sword' looked like her around the eyes. As he circled them, he had to fight so hard and resist the urge to reach out and touch the human. He was so close to his true vessel. He wanted to find out everything about the vessel. Break down the information and use it to his advance. He wanted to be closer to the mother of his vessel as that would and could go some way to quieting the pain from within – the pain of never having his 'sword'.

But he resisted. He kept emotionless. Every time he thought of looking towards Mary Winchester he forced himself to focus on his brother. In order to keep Lucifer distracted from what was really happening, he spoke up, "you are Lucifer. I can feel it. But how is that even possible?" Lucifer seemed taken in by Michael. "Ahh, you know, alternative universes, interdimensional travel, blah, blah, blah." He then turned and pointed at Mary, "It's her fault." On turning back, he continued, "I'll buy that you're Michael, but you're sort of seem like a cheap knock of to the one I left behind, and he's a hot mess!"

"I killed my Lucifer! Tore him apart over the skies of Aberlene. Hey, can't get enough of a good thing." As Michael smirked and changed his stance, Lucifer realised this version of his asshole brother wanted to fight. In response, Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and said, "OK. Why not."

Michael watched as Lucifer took the opportunity to strike as he punched with a quick left jab. Michael moved back, taking in the hit and both archangels raised their fists and began to fight. The punches landed a few times on each other and with each punch, the echo from the power behind each hit could be heard around the open space. Each brother tested each others' defence and blocked each others' punches.

Eventually, Michael saw his opening and managed to twist Lucifer's arm into an arm lock. As Lucifer fought to keep his pain from showing, Michael gloated, "Shoulder hurt?" Ever stubborn and prideful Lucifer squeezed out a "nooo…. It's kinda of wimpy. Whatta you gonna do – kill me?

Michael smiled at these words as he knew how this would go down and what was going to happen. Smiling down at Lucifer he said, "Ohh now. Maybe not. Maybe I need you!" As Michael finished the sentence, Lucifer realised there was a worse fate than dying, but before he could do anything about it, Michael followed through with a solid power punch right to the side of the face and Lucifer collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Michael smiled as he looked down at his brother. Yet again he had a sense of satisfaction that he was the strongest and best amongst the archangels. But there was no time for gloating as he heard Mary Winchester breath out loudly and begin to slowly move away from both of them.

Michael raised his head and smiled. "Hello Mary Winchester. It's such a pleasure to meet you and I'll forgive you for the company you keep, but I really must insist that you come with me. You and I have much to speak about as family are important to both of us and I'm especially keen to hear more about your world and your family." With this last remark, Michael reached out and he placed a forefinger on Mary's head and within seconds her world went dark.

"Sleep mother Winchester, and dream about your boys. It's dark now, but the dawn is coming and the sun will rise."


	7. Chpt 7 A whole new world for the taking

**Chapter 7: A whole new world for the taking!**

 _ **About 10 months ago…..**_

'So many questions, so little time.' This was the thought that rocketed through Michael's mind. As much as he wanted to spend a lot more time with Mary Winchester, he knew that strategically it was better to interrogate his brother. Lucifer would be able to cover so much more as well as get an 'angels' view of his 'sword' as well as the other universe. For the time being, he had to stay focused on the task, so Mary Winchester was left to languish in a cell deep within his fortress and in time he would get to her and indirectly to her son.

By command, Lucifer had been taken to the torture room and striped down naked to the waist. He was then placed in the swinging cage. It was one of Michael's favourite human instruments of torture. It was ideal for what he had in mind for his 'brother'.

On entering the room, Michael noticed that his brother had regained consciousness and was continuing to show defiance and bravado. "Hello Mikey, may I call you Mikey? The other you, you know the one that's rotting in the cage back in my universe, well he's lightened up over the years and responds well to his nickname. " Lucifer smirked at Michael as if knowing this was grating on his more than serious brother nerves.

"Ahh brother, such words, but sadly that's all you can do is talk isn't it. Trapped here in this world and by apes no less. We both know words is all you have." Michael took the time to walk around the swinging cage before he continued, "But now that you're so chatty, lets have a little catch up brother about all things in your universe, shall we?"

"Ah Michael, I didn't know you cared so much about the little hairless apes and what they do. Why should you, you are master of all you survey in this universe, there's no need to visit ours – you'd just be disappointed. Yeah, better you stay here and work on your conversational skills. Maybe adopt a few little playthings – make you feel more powerful, if you know what I mean?" Lucifer smiled and then winked after he delivered his little speech. He was becoming uneasy at his brother's interest in the other world. "Better still, why don't you visit my little human friend Mary Winchester, she's one hot mamma and I'm sure she'll be able to entertain you. It's not what you're really looking for, but close enough, am I right?"

Michael didn't like Lucifer referring to his vessel's mother in the way he did and he was uncomfortable with his brother's probing, maybe Lucifer was striking too close to home with his comments. Michael considered that it was better to ignore and focus on making this a learning opportunity. So without hesitation, he leaned in closer to Lucifer and grabbed at the middle railing and slowly pressed the railing and its spikes inward towards Lucifer. As the spikes pierced his brothers back, stomach and sides, Lucifer screamed out in agony. The pain continued for a few minutes and then Michael released the bar. When Lucifer regained a semblance of normality, he smirked, "Ohh brother, have I hit a nerve with mamma Winchester? Heh heh heh… I didn't know you had a thing for humans or does 'she' help you connect to what you never will have?"

Michael's face remained expressionless. He couldn't let Lucifer know any of his thoughts. He knew from experience that providing his brother with any information always spelt problems as Lucy had the uncanny ability to take the most harmless information and turn it into some sort of 'weapon'. Lucifer must never know about his growing 'interest' in all things Winchester and in particular, one specific Winchester.

"You know what Lucy, I could stand here all day and just play with you. After all, as ruler of this playpen, I have all the time in the world to enjoy slowly killing you." As Michael smiled up at his brother, Lucifer answered, "Ah bro, and here I thought you needed me for some reason. Care to get to the point as unlike you I'm busy and have things to do, places to go, people to see. You know how it goes for important people?"

Before Lucifer could react in any way, Michael had managed to press his hand to the side of his brother's face and speak an ancient Enochian incantation. As Lucifer fell into a trance like state, Michael took the opportunity to begin to dig through his mind and specifically access his memories of this other world. And if he happened to come across memories of his 'sword' will that was just a bonus, wasn't it.

For well over an hour, Michael rummaged through his brother's mind, looking at everything from how the planet evolved and his fall from heaven to the rise out of the cage and the apocalypse. He even witnessed everything to do with the release of Amara and the role everyone played in resolving the age old fight between God and his sister.

Michael was cautious not to focus too much on the Winchesters, but he really needed to understand more about his 'sword'. So despite his need to give Lucifer as little information about his interest in the vessels, he probed further into his brother's mind. He was intrigued by what he came across. And all from the mouth of his brother.

Lucifer began to sing, "Ahh the Winchesters! Where to start on them. On their own they're dangerous, but together they are formidable for humans. Especially as they're so stubborn. Sam, my true vessel… I was lucky, he said yes in Detroit and I so thought I could control him. Harness the soul within the vessel, but I was wrong. His love and bond to his brother was too strong. Even for me. He broke through and in the small amount of time trapped both me and the other Michael in the cage."

Michael listened to this information. It was important. It was well known by angels, demons and now hunters of the requirement for a human to say yes before an angel could take a vessel. But what was less known is that the vessel is a much more powerful weapon for the angel if the soul remains in the vessel and more importantly agrees to work with the angel. Lucifer had clearly outlined that Sam Winchester, may have said yes, but his bond with his brother was so strong that it enabled him to break free from Lucifer – an archangel of all things. He would have to give his own plans much more thought. It wasn't just a matter of getting the vessel in question to say yes, but he had to keep the soul in place and in some way 'persuade' the soul to fight alongside the angel, against all others. A challenge, but not impossible.

Michael probed further. "Deano! What can I say about the older Winchester? Poor Mikey, he tried so hard to get the older Winchester to say yes. He nearly did at one point, when the mud monkey lost faith. But as per usual, the Winchesters stick together and find strength to continue fighting when it comes to family, blah, blah, blah. And for Dean, it's all about family. He'll do anything for his family, especially his brother. He even went to hell for 40 years and all for his baby brother. Would you make a sacrifice like that for little old meeeee?"

This information was 'gold'. It give him much to consider, but he knew he couldn't linger too long on the subject of the Winchesters, but the intel provided was more than enough to get started on. So he decided to return to probing more about the other world.

"I've got plenty of grip for the old man… his self-righteous narcissism. It's my way or the high way… I gotta hand it to him, he had a couple of great seconds when he banged out the universe. I had creative jobs and optimism. I'll give him that. And despite his prissiness and his massive lack of irony he did give mankind a good turn about. And a chance to live in paradise. Rolled, smote and parted waters, worshipped creatures that made god in man's image. And then, he got disappointment, or worse, bored. Picked up all his toys and left." Lucifer continue to drowl on in what seemed like a drug induced haze and all whilst Michael viewed beautiful images of the other world.

It was at this stage that Michael decided to remove his hands from the mind melt. On being released from the control, Lucifer said, "What was that?" Michael continue to move around his brother's cage. "hitched a ride on your temporal lobe. Saw your world. That paradise you left behind. I believe I'll take up residence. Let my guiding hand…." Lucifer was taken back by how quickly his brother had taken an interest to his universe so thought better to try and deflect, "oh, of course cause you've done such wonders with this place."

Michael chose to ignore the slur and continued, "while I was in your head, I saw what you're afraid of. Being locked up again as you were in the cage." He moved around Lucifer and looked up, like a predator circling his prey. Lucifer was vulnerable and powerless. "So after I'm done, you'll be left here, alone. In agony, forever." With this statement, he smiled up at Lucifer, who looked on as the horror began to sink in. He knew his brother. Even this version of his brother. A Michael that had already done this to this world, would relish the opportunity of cleansing Lucifer's universe in righteousness. As per usual, Lucifer didn't want to show weakness or fear to his brother. Michael could see that he was looking for a witty remark or retort to get his own back and he didn't disappoint, "oh Gabriel, could you do me a favour. Eat me!"

With this remark, Michael decided some physical response was needed, so with a smile on his face, he pushed against the cage again and pressed the sharp spikes directly into Lucifer's stomach and back. And once again Lucifer screamed out in pain. And it was so beautiful! Michael walked away, leaving Lucifer to swing from side to side in his little cage, abandoned and in pain as red lightening flashed and thunder roared outside the fortress.

Lucifer must have swung in his cage for at least three days whilst Michael took time to ponder all he had learned. After all there was so much to take in. The other world looked incredibly inviting and had so much to fix and Michael was so ready for a new challenge. Though, it was also incredibly attractive to invade this other world and use his 'sword' for the first time ever.

It was the thought of his 'sword' that reminded him of the feelings the mere vessel had created when Dean Winchester had visited this universe. Michael thought back to the event…..

Michael had sensed the rift opening and knew Kevin's vision was beginning to come to pass. But nothing compared him for the connection that came to life as he felt for the first time ever the presence of his true vessel. Gone was the emptiness that Michael had been experiencing since he had left Heaven to lead the armies in the apocalypse.

Instead, the emptiness was replaced with such a profound feeling, a connection or a bond. Michael knew it was one sided. He knew the human in question, would not sense it, but the connection had been so strong he had collapsed, winded to the ground. Thankfully neither human slave or angel soldier had been in the vicinity when it happened.

Michael had to fight every instinct that screamed at him to fly to his true vessel, take and complete the bond. He had always suspected that his true vessel would have been wonderful to have connected with, but when the bloodline ended abruptly with the death of John Winchester, Michael had accepted that this would never happened.

The euphoria he felt that there was now a real opportunity to have his vessel was too much to ignore. His vessel also came with the opportunity to do it even better this time. And who knows, maybe his father will see his worth and return to him. In fact, this must be a sign. It must be destiny.

As the connection flared to life when Dean Winchester arrived in this universe, Michael felt his vessel leave and with it, the return of the hollow and empty feeling. It was almost too much to bear. Michael waited for the next visit, like an addict waited for their next fix of their favourite drug and he was not disappointed. No sooner had the empty feeling settled within the archangel, when the connection buzzed back to life with the re-entry of the righteous soul into this universe.

Michael decided to use his gift of foresight to connect and watch his vessel 'at work' and he was not disappointed. He watched with a sense of pride as the brave little vessel took on the might of his brother. Surely the human had to know attacking Lucifer with a little gun was futile? But, his vessel sacrificed himself for the cause and took the hits. Michael watched on as the demon came into play and completed the spell. Michael couldn't help be annoyed and if honest, quite jealous by the demon's connection to his vessel as well as his vessels concern over the seraph, Castiel. That was a connection he would not tolerate going forward.

And Michael prepared for the long wait, as he watched from afar, as his true vessel returned through the rift. Michael knew it would be a long time before he would feel this connection, but in that time he would plan and prepare…..

The arrival of Zachariah into his private chamber, brought Michael out of his mind and back to reality. "Lord Michael, the prophet has been working on the tablet and has most of the ingredients and spell ready. What is your orders sir?" As Zachariah returned to being small and subservient, Michael considered the next steps. He knew he had to somehow create a portal to the other universe and soon, but how? The answer had to lie somewhere in 'the word of God'. The scribe, Metatron hadn't been useful, but the prophet seemed to be able to combine the divine with science, so it was looking more hopeful.

"Very well Zachariah, have the guards bring Lucifer to where the prophet is and I will be along shortly. But, I need you to do something for me. I want you to go and keep an eye on the human resistance. Identify who the leaders are as well as get a better understanding of how things work and then report back to me and me ONLY!" With his orders, Zachariah bowed slightly and removed himself from Michaels presence.

Michael made his way towards the prophet Kevin. As he entered the chamber, he looked upon his brother as he was held tightly by at least four angels. Dressed in a white t-shirt and trousers, Michael felt the fear coming from his brother. "I've got an idea, why don't you whale on Mary Winchester for a while, while I go and get a latte."

"look at you, playing at being a god in your world. Here, you're pathetic." As Michael said these words, they seemed to hit a nerve. Lucifer laughed, "you try interdimensional travel sometime pal! Definitely no frills. And just to be clear, I never claimed to be good. Or a god. Where I come from, God is a paradox. He's everywhere in your mind. In reality, he's nowhere, he left. I, on the other hand, I am the real deal. I'm everything humanity thinks I am and worse. That's what you're dealing with pal, but congratulations to you for being king of the hill on this dead rock!"

Standing about 8 feet in front of Lucifer, Michael smirked at Lucifer's bravado. "unlike you, I'll be trading up." Michael started to walk forward out of the shadows in the room and into the light. As he got closer, Lucifer answered, "Ohh. You mean to the earth? You sort of need that pesky little rift to pull that trade off and it's… oh… missing!" Michael moved closer to his brother, "for now. I consider myself a man with a plan. Alternative universes Not news! We've been exploring the idea." Lucifer raised an eyebrow at this, "we?"

As if on cue, Michael looked to his guards, "bring him in. The greatest minds on this dead rock, including our prophet of the lord…." As Michael went to finish, Lucifer recognised the new arrival. "Kevin?"

Kevin Tran seemed to wander like a shy little sheep into the room. He was holding a book or tablet of some sort and as usual, he was looking rather nervous. Lucifer took in this universe's version, "Kevin Tran?" With hearing his name, Kevin looked directly at the other person in the room, "Have we met? Lucifer answered, "eh, we had one of you in our world. The other you is dead." As if bored with the conversation, Michael interrupted, "Don't care. What have you got for me…?"

Kevin approached his Lord and master, " I'mmm, I've assembled all the elements and attained the angel tablet. Course, I haven't done this before, no one here has, and any predictions not being what they are.. " Michael seemed to hear noise and thought, get to the point human, as Kevin continued to ramble on, "… but a fly in the ointment exists… the key ingredient, archangel grace, which you eh, have refused to donate. Irritated by the lowly insect, Michael spoke up, "don't' screw with me worm." This seemed to annoy the prophet, if for nothing more than for being incorrectly labelled, "I'm a vertebrate, neither.." Michael was pissed now and reached and grabbed the vial from the table, "I don't need to waste my grace, when there's plenty in the cupboard."

These words resonated with Lucifer and he knew what was coming next. As he started to squirm again, "touch me and I'll …", but before Lucifer could finish his threat, he received a right fist to his face from Michael. "Don't worry I won't take it all. Save some for a rainy day. Say ahh…" With these words, Michael had raised his blade to Lucifer's throat and nicked it, releasing grace, which swirled out of the neck and gently entered the glass vial. Michael could see his brother weakened greatly as the grace left his body. The eyes rolled up into the head as Michael secured the lid of the vial and then healed the wound on his brother's neck. But before moving a way, Michael couldn't resist the opportunity to gloat a little as he raised the vial to Lucifer's face and smirked. His brother could do very little other than glare.

A few hours later, Kevin was putting the finishing touches to the spell. He was working away at the table as Lucifer stood close by, held tightly by a number of angels. He was still extremely weak from losing his grace. Lucifer had spent the last number of hours trying to work out what he was going to do. He had to escape. His brother was hell bent on getting to 'his world' and that could never happen, but how could he get home, never name prepare for an invasion from his obviously 'power hungry insane, psychopath' of a brother.

Lucifer was lifted from his mind, with Kevin declaring whatever he was working on as being 'ready!' "Kevin. What are you doing getting mixed up with Michael?" This seemed to annoy Kevin. "I don't have a choice. I'm a prophet, so I serve God, but there's no God to serve, soooo, I serve the ranking deity and that's Michael, cause I don't have a choice, because I'm a prophet." Lucifer was beginning to get a headache as the prophet rambled his excuses. "you idiot! Can't you see, Michael is a monster, pure evil."

Kevin looked a little taken back by the statement. "Ok, I'm confused, aren't you Satan?! Wouldn't that make you the evil monster. And besides Michael's taking me with him to paradise world. So I can meet hot women." Lucifer looked on bewildered, "I'm sorry what?..." But before he could continue, the door opened and Michael stepped back into the room.

"This better work?" As Michael glared, Kevin felt compelled to offer caveats to his work, just in case. "Ok disclaimer! What I'm making is a synthetically tested magaforce that has not been tested and I've never done this before…. It should be enough to open the rift, but I can't promise 100%." As if unamused and brimming with inpatience, Michael snarked out, "just do it!" Lucifer was very nervous at what would happen next. "Kevin? Don't… Do.. It!"

Everyone looked on, all eyes transfixed on the dish, as Kevin poured the grace in and uttered some Enochian wording. All of a sudden, an unusual energy began to stir within the chamber and all out of nowhere a rift appeared. Lucifer, being used to seeing the rift, knew this was his only chance and as everyone else looked on in shock, as the rift flashed and banged into existence, Lucifer took the chance and wrangled himself free and ran and jumped through the rift. Immediate as the archangel entered the event horizon of the tear in time and space, the rift flashed out of existence.

As reality set in, Michael ran towards where the rift had been. He was furious as he shouted, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Realising what just happened, Kevin felt compelled towards 'self preservation. "clearly the science wasn't perfect. Whoooowww" Michael was pissed beyond belief. Kevin decided he needed to continue. "It was designed to let one person inside. Eh, eh… who saw THAT coming!".

As if he couldn't take any more, Michael grabbed at his prophet. "FIX THIS!" And thinking better of his position, Michael pushed Kevin away from him, otherwise there was a strong possibility that Kevin was too close to being obliterated out of existence. Moving across the room to behind the table, Michael looked down at the ingredients and then over to the angel tablet. 'Surely, there had to be another way?'

As the gravity of the situation, began to sink in further, Kevin walked back and forth nervously and tried to defuse the situation further. "I really thought we had enough ingredients to try the spell again, but we don't. My bad" Plus, the grace is used up, unless you give some of yours, but I'm guessing you won't cos, whoowww, Lucifer was a mess afterwards." As the prophet prattled on and on, Michael's annoyance rose and the incessant noise coming from the irritating human was beginning to give Michael a headache. He reached forward and raised both hands to each side of his head as the human continued. "Did I mention that the ingredients are really hard to find?"

"Pointing the finger at Kevin, Michael stated, "SHUT UP! Lucifer entered this world without some fancy spell. HOW" And where is the rift he came through?" Kevin knew he had no answers for his master. "all fair questions."

Knowing the prophet could do no more, Michael walked towards the two angels guarding the entrance to the chamber. He was beyond furious. He had lost his brother, but this was made so much worse, by the fact that he was so close, but yet so far to getting to a whole new world, which was ripe for the taking. Armed with this thought and as he could almost taste the connection with his true vessel, he turned to his two angels guards. "Bring me the woman. Bring me Mary Winchester!"


	8. Chpt 8 There's something about Mary

Chapter 8: There's something about Mary…..

Note – I'm not planning to be graphic, but please be warned I will be insinuating that Michael was a bit too close for comfort with Mary, so there will be elements of non-con with Mary, if too upsetting, please don't read…

Just over 9 months ago….

When Lucifer escaped, Michael was livid. After all, over the years Michael was well used to winning at everything he did. But when it counted, and let's be honest. This counted. He felt he had lost a major battle, as he saw his brother vanish through the rift to a place where everything he coveted and craved existed.

Being honest with himself, Michael was beside himself at the sheer thought, that his brother was loose and roaming free in the other world. Thankfully, he knew that his brother would be extremely weakened both by the loss of his grace as well as travelling back through the rift. But this thought, brought him little to no real comfort. His mind, and more so, his imagination, took him to even darker places. Places were his 'sword' was stolen from him and worse still, his sword was wiped out of existence, once again taking away the chance of Michael ever connecting. That thought alone nearly destroyed him.

It was this thinking, alongside a strong desire to get a better understanding of how the rift formed, that Michael sought out Mary Winchester for questioning. But if he was more honest with himself, there was also a desire to somehow be closer to his vessel as well. So two weeks after Lucifer had disappeared through the rift, Michael found himself getting more than involved in Mary Winchester's interrogation.

Michael was shook out of his internal wanderings by Mary Winchester moving to get more comfortable. Over the past two weeks, Mary had been treated to physical and mental torture as well as deep mind probing. And Michael had learned so much.

When Mary was first dragged in front him, Michael had so many questions. His first assault was to take as much information via a similar mind probe to that he had used on his brother. And what he had learned was of great benefit….

"My boys. Please, I need to get back to my boys. They need me. I've only just really started to get to know them again. I wasted nearly a year of running away from what I had done, but Dean. My little boy, no man. He forgave me. He took me back and even when he should have kicked me to the curb. No. He was so forgiving, because family is everything to him. No my son took me back in. He needs me he needs his mum. Both of them do."

Michael took in all this information. So Dean and his mother had only reconnected recently and the relationship was still being worked on. The mother, obviously wanted to make it work, but Dean was vulnerable. But there's a theme here. Dean is vulnerable when it comes to family. Family means everything to him and he'll do anything to protect his family. Interesting!

"And Sam. My baby boy. I need to get back to him so I can connect. I don't even know him at all. I wasted so much time running a way. Fucking men of letters. Bastards! If only I had stayed with my boys and not sided with the 'Brits!'". Though Michael wasn't as interested in the other brother, he did see merit in knowing everything about the family dynamic. Because, who knows, maybe he would gleam a hidden nugget of information that could prove useful in the future.

"Mary. Tell me about Dean. What make's him so strong?" Michael held his breath as this mind probing could be tricky, but he was rewarded as Mary seemed to take the question as an opportunity to gush about her boy. "Dean. Where do I start… he strong, passionate, loyal and selfless. There's nothing he wouldn't do for those he loves. He doesn't trust too many people and especially anything supernatural. In fact, the only supernatural being he's ever trusted was his friend Castiel. Who I see as a son and brother."

Michael seethed at this information. Castiel! Brother! This connection (no, definitely not a bond) will cease to exist if I have anything to do with it! Putting that to the side. So family is important. "Mary, I agree about how strong Dean is, but what worries you about him, what do you think would be his weaknesses?" Michael held his breath and awaited the response.

"I worry about Dean from time to time. He is selfless but he's too self sacrificing. I think it has something to do with his father and his childhood, but the boys never talk about their childhood too much. I get the feeling a lot of bad stuff happened, but they don't want to tell me because they're scared it will ruin any image I have of their father, John." Michael's interest peaked at this statement. What had happened to Dean and more importantly, how could he use it? After all, Michael didn't just need his vessel to say yes, he needed to both tie and bond with the soul.

"That's good Mary. You're a good mother. Surely, you want your sons to be safe. Tell me about what make's them safe?" Mary seemed to smile as if she was actually seeing what it was that was making them safe. "Family and the fortress! I mean, Sam and Dean will kill and die for one another. Castiel will destroy the world for my boys, especially Dean."

"Mary, what do you mean by fortress?" Michael was worried, was there something he hadn't taken into account? "Oh, sorry, that's my name for the bat cave. Sorry, that's Dean's name for it. I mean the bunker. The Men of Letters bunker. Did I tell you, my sons are Men of Letters Legacies? They're sitting on the worlds largest collection of supernatural lore. If the answer isn't in the bunker, then I question whether an answer exists. The bunker is the safest place in the world. Nothing can track my sons when they're in the bunker and it's warded for everything, even Lucifer."

As Michael remembered the information he had gleamed over the first few days of interrogating Mary, he knew there would be much he had to plan for. In fact, since the mind probe, Michael had taken the time to find out what the world looked like from a human's perspective. It had been a useful exercise, given that Mary had only come back to life, after 30+ years of death, and had to find her way in the new world. Mary's observations had been very insightful and he knew that when he and his armies arrived, there were a number of things he had to do first.

Unfortunately, the downside to spending a lot more time with Mary Winchester over the past two weeks had to do with the bloodline and the uncanny link to his vessel. Through torture and coercion as well as drug induced states, Michael had born witness to a lot of images of Dean Winchester. This in turn, had fuelled his possessive nature. In fact, if he was truly honest with himself, his interest in his vessel was bordering on obsessive. It was this obsession that now found the archangel staring in a strange way at Mary Winchester.

Mary was beyond scared by the looks Michael was sending her. The archangel could sense her heartbeat increasing and her fear rising. He looked into her mind and saw how uneasy she was. She saw something akin to obsession bordering on lust. This angered Michael. 'Lust! LUST? Disgusting. Blasphemy! An angel, never name and archangel lusting after a human. Vile. How dare you think this. You are nothing but a means to an end.'

Michael couldn't contain his anger. He was not lusting after Mary Winchester. He was not obsessing over a human, never name this human. He was the Archangel Michael. God's true son. His right hand. But as Michael procrastinated about how important he was and how insignificant humans were, it suddenly hit him. 'It's not Mary Winchester that you're obsessed with. Don't fool yourself, you are obsessing, but it's not with her, it's with her son, your sword and true vessel. You can't deny it! Dean was made for you. He was designed for you. He was born to be yours. He may have denied your other self but destiny will still happen. He will NOT deny you this time. He is yours and yours alone! No one will touch him. He exists for you to deliver on your mission. This is why this world failed. You did not fail in creating the utopia in this world, it was because you did not have your sword!'

Dean Winchester was who he was obsessing over. He had to be truthful with himself. His obsession was very evident as he remembered, catching how he looked at Mary and could almost see Dean in her eyes and face. When he touched her after an extreme torture session, the touch created a small connection that helped remind him of Dean. 'Since when had he started referring to his 'sword' by his first name?' Sadly, in order to keep this connection, he had to continue touching. It was this touching that was the cause of Mary's fear. The human seemed to distrust Michael staring at her. 'How can I reconnect with Dean through Mary?'

It was this thought and the images that followed that had Michael fly into a state of rage. The image of taking Mary and dominating her as if he was taking and dominating his vessel made him ill. He could not defile his essence with such a connection. But unfortunately for poor Mary, Michael did not see the fault lying with his thoughts. He was perfect, the obsession must be because Mary was somehow 'seducing' or 'corrupting' him. And in order to stop this, Michael had to punish her and so the torture turned to mindless violence, because to look upon her face was to be reminded by what he had lost.

There was something about Mary, something that he had to stay away from. Resigned to the fact that he had learned as much from her, as she could possibly know, Michael decided to place her in the swinging cage. He needed to remove the 'temptation'. If this is how he was reacting to the vessel's mother, what will he not be like when faced with his 'sword'. So Mary was taken away and placed in the cage and left to fester until he needed her to bargain with.


	9. 9 We're all in the bad place together

**Chapter 9 – We're all in this bad place together**

 _ **Four weeks later…..**_

Patience was a virtue. Thankfully for Michael, it was a good thing he was righteous because he had little to no patience. He had spent the last four weeks trying everything to keep his mind active whilst he waited for any type of movement. He marched with some unknown purpose from one room to another tearing up areas of the fortress as he went along and he was seconds away from obliterating everything outside the fortress within a 200 mile radius.

He couldn't stand around waiting. His mood was made worse, as he was not used to feeling this 'powerless'. He had no control over when or if the prophet got another vision or whether he could work out a better solution for getting to the other world. And despite hiding Mary Winchester far away from him, and as he left her to swing in a pained induced trance, his obsession with his vessel (he refused to call him by his name) still increased.

It was not helped as Michael was becoming paranoid. He was worried about the rumours that he felt was spreading amongst the rank and file angels. Rumours that Michael had been tricked by his brother Lucifer, who then managed to escape and get through to the other amazing world. He also sensed that his officers were questioning his unhealthy and unclear focus on the human female. She had no military and intelligence value, so why spend hours probing her mind when they had learned everything they needed from the other Lucifer.

Even Raphael seemed slightly distant and he had been strangely less vocal about Lucifer, other worlds and power source in the past few days. In fact, Raphael's silence in itself was increasing his paranoia. 'What if Raphael was losing faith in him? No. No my brother is the only loyal one. He just doesn't fully understand the larger picture. But he will.' As Michael phased back into reality, he sensed his brother approaching. It had been at least two weeks since they last had any real and meaningful strategizing meeting. He would use this time to bring his brother back online with his thinking.

"Michael. Brother I come bearing news from the east of the planet. The demons attempted to gain a stronger foothold in the eastern quadrant. They seem to have been fuelled somehow by the thought that Lucifer was back. But the counter attack was bloody but in the end, successful." Raphael considered informing his brother of the heavy losses but thought it better to report victory. Michael's temper had been shorter than normal this weather and he had no wish to be in the vicinity if Michael lost it.

"Good Raphael. Good. We knew that letting Lucifer wander would inspire rebellion. It was worth it to learn what we have learned. I assume the casualties were heavy on our side?" As Michael finished, Raphael nodded in acknowledgement but picked up on the mention of their brother. Maybe now was a good time to bring up what the next steps were? "Brother. You know I am loyal and you know I trust your amazing leadership and direction, but it's been weeks and with Lucifer's escape back to the other world and with the spell not working as well as it should what are the next steps? I know the importance of getting to this other world, but brother, how?"

For the first time in a long time, Michael was unsure how to proceed. He had faith. Faith in his father. Faith in destiny. Faith in himself. But with Raphael's comments, for one moment Michael felt rudderless, but thankfully only for one moment. Michael felt he should go to his default settings when faced with uncertainty. "Raphael, I know it seems we're in a bad place at the minute, but remember brother, it's always darkest before the dawn. Our father has a plan. There is always destiny and keep the faith, the solution will present itself."

Michael's explanation was enough for Raphael. He bowed his head slightly and decided to take the time to catch up with his brother in all affairs of the kingdom. They both spoke for hours and for once in what seemed ages, Michael felt at peace, but he knew the unease he had been feeling since his vessel set foot on this world, would return and return soon and it was becoming harder to control. He needed movement and movement soon.

One week later….

The day started like any other day in the fortress for Kevin. He woke up, went about his daily morning routine and after scrounging up some breakfast, he set about working on the tablet. When Kevin had first been given the job of translating the slab of stone and finding a spell to cross to other universes, his mind had loved the challenge. It was a puzzle plain and simple and one he would be pushed to solve. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate the importance that Michael would place on him solving the puzzle and it was this pressure that was making Kevin more nervous than usual.

At least twice a day, Michael would come to the chamber and insist on an update and twice a day, Kevin would spend well over an hour trying to come up with some sort of progress report that sounded like he was actually making head way. It wasn't helped that he had managed to open a gateway but not sustain it. In fact, the more Kevin studied the tablet, the more he became convinced that there was no solution. And if there was, he wasn't going to live long enough to benefit from it!

Armed with this thought, Kevin sighed as he stared for what felt like the millionth time at the chunk of stone. He hated his existence. When he first found out he was a prophet, he had thought 'special status'. I will be treated with respect and protected. Unfortunately, he had not met Michael and when he did, it took all of 3 seconds for that illusion to die. And die it did when Michael had lifted him by the jaw and looked into his eyes and uttered the sentence, "Let me make this clear. You exist to serve me and me alone. Your purpose is set. The moment you cease to be of use, I will determine whether you live or die. And prophet remember, there are many things much, much worse than dying and I've had millions of years to explore them. Do not disappoint or displease me!"

Kevin shivered as he remembered his first meeting with Michael. He had wished it had been the last, but living under threat of death from Michael for the time that Kevin had, only served to make the prophet act even more unusual and strange around Michael than normal. At times he could push the archangel and survive to push and annoy on another day. But the vision of the 'visitors'; the existence of another world and the knowledge that another version of his brother had both annoyed and escaped was changing Michael. And not for the better.

As Michael became more frustrated by the lack of progress, Kevin became more anxious and stressed. 'How long before Michael believed Kevin couldn't do it? When would Michael finally snap and either crush Kevin into dust or smatter and smear his body across a wall.' It was only a matter of time. Kevin needed a win and fast. This thought forced him to stow his crap and focus on the task in front of him. Allowing emotions to distract him would not ensure his survival and Kevin wanted to live. No, that wasn't correct. He just didn't want to live, he wanted to live well. So he lowered his head and continued on with his work.

It must have been hours, but there was no real way of telling, but regular as clock work Michael burst through the doors of the chamber and demanded an update. Kevin nervously looked up from the tablet and for the first time in a few weeks he felt there was at least something to report.

"Lord Michael. Master. It's not been easy but I'm making headway. As you know we managed to get the rift to open but only to allow one person to go through, well it's because we don't have all of the spell. I believe there's more information but you'll need to get that from one or more of the other tablets – given that it concerns other universes, it would make sense that the spell would be connected with other tablets not just the angel tablet." Kevin stopped talking and allowed his 'best guess' to sink in with the archangel. After some thought, Michael nodded, "Makes sense. I will retrieve the other tablets and you can look through them. But Kevin, the clock is ticking. The longer my brother roams free in the other universe, the more I will have to do to fix what he broke. Do you understand what that means for your 'paradise world'?" Kevin nodded. He understood a veiled threat when he heard one.

Michael was turning to leave when Kevin felt strange. At first, he put it down to unusually high levels of stress and pressure, but no this was different but familiar. But before Kevin could identify what the problem was, he felt his body fall to the ground and the world he knew to go dark and in the darkness then he received his vision.

The first thing Michael knew that something had happened was when he heard the breaking of a mug. On turning, he saw the prophet fall to the ground. 'maybe he's overworked. Let him sleep it off. Once I return with the tablet he should be rested enough to start again. I might get some more food. No point in killing him before he's served his purpose.'

As these thoughts swirled around Michael's mind, he noticed Kevin's body begin to twitch and then it hit him. 'Finally, another vision. About time. Let's hope this brings more solutions than questions!' As if on cue, Kevin stopped convulsing and began to come round. "He's coming! He's looking for her, trying to connect to her. He's searching her out and he will find her and come for her." As Kevin stopped talking, Michael looked puzzled at the new information. 'Who is he and who is her?'

Michael pondered this question and then raised his hand to Kevin's forehead and connected. Within seconds the archangel was rummaging through the images from the vision and then he was able to make sense of what the prophet had seen. He smiled. He had made the right call in keeping her alive. He rose to his feet and turned away from a now exhausted and unconscious prophet of the Lord and began to pace.

He turned to the two guards at the door, "Bring the human Mary Winchester to my private office. We need to have another conversation." As the guards obediently left the room to carry out his order, Michael smirked to himself. 'I know her presence makes you uneasy but she still has a role. She is a means to an end.'

Mary knew something was happening and not in a good way, when she heard the unscheduled clanging of keys as the door to her cell was opened. Two guards entered the room and without noise, unlocked her from her shackles and dragged her out from the room and down a poorly lit corridor. It didn't take long for Mary to work out that she wasn't going to the normal torture room, instead she was brought into a grander room. And when she dared to raise her head to take in her new surroundings her heartrate shot up. Was she really standing unguarded in the private chambers of the archangel Michael? 'Oh God. This can't be good?!'

"Mary Winchester, come sit down. You must be tired and hungry? There's food, eat." Michael's invitation to sit down and eat was new and though he wasn't smiling and rolling out the red carpet, the sudden change in his approach left her very unnerved. Mulling over her limited options, Mary slowly rose to her feet and shuffled closer to the table and sadly closer to the archangel. Mary thought it better to avoid eye contact and keep quiet, it was obvious that the archangel wanted or needed something from her.

As she sat down, she took the opportunity to grab a cup of water and drink as quickly as possible. But the smell of cooked chicken and vegetables was proving too much. Without hesitation, she delved in and ate as quickly as she could as there was no doubt it would probably be a long time (if she survived this) before she may get the chance again and surviving and getting back to her boys was the most important thing for her now.

Mary was snapped out of her 'feast' by Michaels next words. "You're probably wondering why I brought you here and why I'm treating you different?" Mary, realising that no matter what happened next, she would hold her ground and go down swinging, replied, "Yes, and given who you are, and I know what you are capable of, I assume there's a tactical reason you're doing this instead of torturing me further?"

Michael smiled. Mary was taken back as it seemed genuine as if he was impressed by her words and actions. "Yes Mary, you are perceptive and intelligent and yes you are here for a reason – one I will get to and soon. So why don't we be civilised and have a real conversation instead of me just entering your mind and taking information or torturing it from your screaming body?"

Recognising a threat and an order when she heard it, Mary acknowledged, "I can't imagine I hold any military intelligence for you given I'm not even from this world and I have no supernatural powers. So, what is it you want to know?"

Michael chose to sit down directly across the table from Mary. This change in circumstances both settled Mary and also unnerved her. She didn't think it was possible to do both, but Michael sitting down looked less threatening, but 'what was going on, what was he really after?' Michael breathed in deeply and as he released his breath, he asked what seemed a strange question, "Tell me what you know about angels?"

"Come again? You want to ask me what I know about angels?" Mary was shocked, of all the questions, this was not what she was expecting to hear. "Yes, it's a simple question Mary. I thought I would start with an easy one and we'd work our way up to the harder ones." Mary sighed as she tried to pull together snippets of information she had gleamed from her sons as well as from books and other hunters. She smiled and decided to 'channel' her eldest son in her answer. "Well, lore and experience has you nailed corrected as dicks with wings." She stopped to see what her remarks would do. She was expecting retribution from Michael, but none was forthcoming. So she realised, he really wanted to know, so she moved into a more comfortable position and began to talk.

"I know your kind normally stay in heaven, but on our world you started to re-engage and tried to start an apocalypse. But you had your 'wings clipped' and the apocalypse didn't happen as you thought it would. Your kind have very little weaknesses apart from arrogance and just being a giant douche bag. Normal angels can be killed by angel blade, but it's harder to kill you bastard archangels. But we'll work it out one day and when we do, you'll meet death."

Michael had sat almost motionless and listened to her speak. He hadn't interrupted and her words seemed not to annoy him. He smirked at some of her comments but that was the extent of his interaction. As she finished with her threat, Michael looked at her. "Tell me Mary, what do you know about angels and angel possession?"

'What the hell type of question was this? Why on earth was he asking this? Where is this going to?' As these questions rushed through Mary's mind, she knew something was wrong about this conversation but she didn't know what and it was this unknown fact that was leaving her extremely uneasy. But she couldn't sit and say nothing. Michael was expecting an answer and she feared that it didn't matter what she said, any information would somehow benefit Michael and Michael only. But she realised that she had no real choice. To know what was going on, she needed to give something up.

"Uhm.. angels need a vessel just like a demon but unlike a demon they need permission to take possession." Mary went for short and sweet in her answer. That sounded like the safest option. On hearing her answer Michael nodded and said, "what else?" Mary wasn't too sure what else there was to say. She went over and over the conversations and the snippets of lore she had accrue in the past year on angels and then she remembered. "Vessels! I'm mean demons takeover any human they can find but angels can't. The human has to be more compatible. Hence why you call certain humans vessels."

"That is correct Mary. Unlike the demonic scum that are happy with any type of meatsuit, an angel can only be housed by specific types of humans or more specific bloodlines." At this comment, Mary breathed in suddenly and raised her head. "Bloodlines?" Michael continued. "Yes Mary, bloodlines. You see, certain bloodlines are strong enough to house an angel, but the stronger and more powerful the angel, then a stronger and more powerful bloodline is needed." Michael had paused after this, to obviously allow Mary time to think or even catch up. Mary's eyes flitted from side to side trying to process the information and then they stopped moving and her mouth opened slightly.

"Lucifer! Sam! Oh my God!" She mumbled something and shifted as if to rise, but Michael was quick as his hand grabbed and held her in place at the table. "Go on Mary. Think it through. You'll get there."

"My baby boy went through what he went through because it was in his bloodline!" Mary did not intend her statement to be a question. Michael understood and nodded. "Oh God. Everything that happened to Sam happened because I married John and brought the bloodlines needed together to allow Lucifer to walk the earth…. Emm…" Michael began to shift as if something she said annoyed him, but she wasn't sure what. Was it the mere mention of Lucifer's name that annoyed him or was it something else?

"Go on Mary, what else?" At Michael's question, Mary moved back in her seat. 'What else was there? Sam's life had been cursed. Demons had watched and manipulated from the sidelines and all to ensure that Lucifer escaped the cage and took his vessel to fight. And because he had managed to defeat the devil, Sam had spent over 100 years in the cage with Lucifer and had suffered greatly. What else was there really?"

"Oh Great Father, she doesn't know. How could you not know ?" With this Michael stood up and began to mumbled something under his breath and then shake his head from side to side. Whatever she had said, or in this case, not said, seemed to anger the archangel. Mary went back through the conversations she had had with Sam and Dean over the past year. She tried to piece together everything to see what she had missed, but there was nothing. Dean had told her about what happened to Sam and the whole Lucifer and destiny bullshit. Dean had told her about Amara and Chuck but after that, and apart from hunting stories and very few growing up on the road stories (why was that – I must explore that when I get a chance later), there was nothing else.

Seeing she was still no closer to an answer, Michael thought a clue might help. "Mary. Sam was Lucifer's true vessel, but not his only vessel. So the meatsuit you seen him in when you first met him, was a vessel, but not his true one. For some reason, unknown to anyone but Lucifer, this vessel seems to hold him without decaying and breaking down. But Sam is his true vessel, the perfect fit and all due to the Winchester/Campbell bloodline." As he finished, Michael glared directly at Mary and emphasised the 'Winchester/Campbell bloodline' as if there was something obvious.

"It must continue to drive my brother mad to see his true vessel and not to be able to take control of it. To be sooo close and not be able to connect. You see Mary, you cannot comprehend the connection between an angel, especially and archangel and its true vessel. Vessels are one thing, but to have control and use of your true vessel. Well. it just completes you." At Michaels words, Mary rose to her feet. She was uncomfortable with these words, she was missing something but she wasn't completely sure what yet, but she got the feeling there was more and she wasn't going to like it.

"But you know what, having the true vessel say yes, is only the start. You see, when an angel takes over a vessel there are a number of options. The easiest is for the soul to leave and go to heaven. It makes life easier for the angel but with the absence of a soul and more importantly a willing soul, the angel will never reach it's most powerful potential. Noww! If a soul remains it must be willing to let the angel take control or else the angel will be always distracted and this will not do." As Michael allowed Mary to process this information, he looked into her mind to see how much closer she was to realising what was going on and why.

"Ideally, the best outcome for the angel is when the soul remains and gives themselves completely over to the angel. I mean to the point past worship, more like binding themselves to the angel, then and only then will the true power be unleashed. That angel would be extremely powerful." Mary nodded. She could see it now. Sam was so smart, strong and powerful. No wonder Lucifer sought him out and with the bloodline it was meant to be. 'But where was this conversation going? Lucifer was gone. Sam was in the other universe, so what was Michael's angle?'

"So you can imagine, how much power an archangel would have if that archangel had his true vessel and he was bound to them for all time? It would be immense, wouldn't it? You could see why such a prize would be worth any effort, wouldn't you Mary?" At these words, Mary looked straight at Michael. It was then that it started to make sense. 'Lucifer had found his true vessel and had even used it but never had a chance to bind it to him in the other universe. This would explain why Michael was obsessed with getting to her world. Did he believe his true vessel existed? If so, how? There was no guarantee, unless he already….y…. knew!' If Mary's heart could have stopped at that moment, it would have. "The bloodline. Oh God no. Just no, no, no!"

With the realisation, Mary backed away from the table. She was shaking, but it was unclear as to whether it was fear or anger. Michael knew she had worked it out. He grinned at her and his moved to the side slightly. "Mary, or should I call you mum? It took you a long time to work it out that as the elder brother to Lucifer, that my true vessel would be related to Lucy's true vessel. Surely your eldest son would have told you all about me … or I mean the other me in your old universe? From what I was able to gleam from my brothers mind was your son, my vessel, fought very hard and refused to say yes. Something that will have to be rectified when I come a knocking!"

These words hit Mary like iced water fired directly at her face would have - 'Why hadn't Dean told her about Michael? Did he think it wasn't important enough to mention? That he wasn't important enough in the story to mention? Typical Dean. Selfless and self-sacrificing. Why son? You should have told me!' Mary couldn't allow these thoughts to weigh her down, but she could only imagine the strength her son had as he faced down his version of Michael and won. That was unbelievable. Armed with this thought, Mary fought back. "No. Never… It's never going to happen. You hear me. Dean will never say yes. Not to you and not when he knows what you're capable off. Besides, he's safe. He's so far away from your grasp. You'll never get to him. Never." Feeling brave she approached Michael. "He took on you and won, what makes you think 'you' will have any better luck?" With this she spat into Michaels face.

Preparing to die, Mary stepped back but held her head high. If she was about to get blown to pieces by a snap of fingers, then she was going to hold her head up high with dignity. Michael didn't react the way she thought he would. Every other encounter had Michael cold and volatile but this version of Michael standing in front of her was different. It was as if he knew something that she didn't and that made Mary feel very sick inside. Instead of lashing out and hitting her or killing her, Michael stepped one step closer to her and raised his hand to wipe away the spit from his face.

"Mary, Mary, Mary. Brave words and brave actions, but we both know resistance is futile. I will make my way to the other world and you know what I'm going to do first? Do you?" Without waiting for a reply he continued, "I'm going to search out your son in his underground bunker, yes, I know all about your son and the protection that surrounds him. I will seek him out and when I find him Mary, I'm not just going to get him to say yes. Because that will happen. No, I won't stop at yes. I'm never going to let him go, because you son is very special. And do you know why he's so special Mary, because I do!"

Mary didn't want to hear any of this. Of all the things that were keeping her sane in this hell hole of a world, it was the knowledge that her boys were far away and safe from this. It filled her with pure dread that her suffering and fighting will have been for nothing if this monster in front of her manages to make it to her world. But to think that when he gets there, that her son will be such a target. No. This could not be happening. "What.. will… you… do?"

"It is written, that the righteous man will break the first seal that sets Lucifer free. Do you know that your son is the righteous man Mary? Do you know what that really means?" Michael paused, he wanted her to take this information in. In fact Michael looked as if he was feeding off her misery and suffering. "no, but I'm sure you're about to tell me!" Michael smirked and continued, " Dean Winchester isn't just the righteous man, he is the righteous soul! And all souls are powerful, but can you imagine how much power a righteous soul has?"

The words and their true meaning hit Mary like a freight train. Now it all made sense. The torture, the questioning, the obsession with getting to the other world. 'It wasn't about getting to the other world, it was about getting possession and control of his true vessel and breaking down the righteous soul – Dean's soul.' It couldn't be allowed to happen. If Michael gained control of Dean, he would be even more powerful. Completely unstoppable. "No, you can't do that to my son. You can't!"

"Ahh Mary, now you begin to understand and are now bartering and begging. I am nothing if I'm not patient Mary. And I have been more than patient. I sat aside the pain when you, yes the other you Mary, refused to make the deal and save John Winchester. I had to live with knowing that I would have to wait again for another few generations before my true vessel' or the 'righteous sword' was born. But I would wait. Unfortunately my brother couldn't. Hence this shit hole of a world instead of utopia. My father is angry that we failed to bring about the true destiny, but don't you see. It was all a test Mary. All a test, because through my father's very own prophet, the way has been shown to me, and I WILL NOT FAIL HIM AGAIN!"

As Michael raised his voice with the last few words, Mary continued to retreat slowly back until her back hit the wall. At this stage, Michael had continued to walk towards her, but now his fists were at his side and were clinched in anger. Mary needed to think fast. She needed to diffuse the situation or else she would not live and she had to. She just had to some how escape and get out of here. This Michael must never get to her world or it would be the end. The end of everything. "As much as I enjoy the evil villain monologuing, why are you telling me this? You don't need to tell me, anything,"

Michael seemed to snap out of his tirade and calm. Stopping about a foot away from her, he looked straight into her eyes. "yes, you are right." This seemed to annoy Mary, "if that is the case, What. Do. You. Want. From. Me?"

After 2 minutes of silence, Michael laughed and he really laughed deep and for a long time. "Oh Mary, don't you see. I don't want anything from you. Not now. …. I have everything I need from you. I just told you because I could. Because I want you to understand before you die and die you shall, but it will be when I decide, but you will understand that I am coming to your world and I am coming to take your son. Yes Mary. The fact that you are his mother has driven me mad these past weeks. The bloodline and the fact that you look so alike has not helped. It has pained me, but I will be rid of you, as a surgeon would cut out a cancer, I will remove you and soon, but Kevin has foreseen you still have a small part to play."

"What do you mean?" at this stage Mary was breathing hard and fast. Michael had started to move towards her as he spoke. He was now inches away from her face.

In a lowered voice, Michael looked directly into her eyes, "Humans are filthy, corrupt creatures. You are no different Mary. When you first arrived I was weak and vulnerable. You see, your son's very presence in this world opened the connection or the bond that only exists between an angel and a true vessel. I was weak and when I realised who you were, for a time, I was tempted, but you did not win. I am strong and just like cancer in a body, I will cut you out of this connection because when I come to the other world, I will have nothing stand between me and my 'sword'. Nothing. Not you or his brother or even the pathetic angel. But for now, I will keep you alive as I need you to lure another to here. And come he shall. And with him, your son will follow."

Mary wanted to scream. In looking into Michaels eyes she seen nothing but hate and truth and that scared her. Before she could give any sort of answer Michael raised his hand to her head and before her world went black he whispered, "thank you Mary for listening. Sleep now and forget this conversation. Because when you wake I need you to call out for help. Do that for me. Play your part and we'll all leave this bad place in one way or the other."

As Michael whispered the last words he smiled. The session had been cathartic in many ways. It felt good to have an open conversation with someone that could not harm his agenda. Connecting and interacting in the way that he did with the mother of his true vessel, Michael felt better. He felt as if he had had the chance to have the conversation with his vessel and he so could not wait to have the conversation. In fact, the very thought of meeting Dean and getting him to say yes haunted him every minute of the day for the past few months. He needed answers to many questions he had as he sat and tried to plan what to do when he got there and how to get his vessel to say yes. But Michael knew that was only the start of things. He had to control and subdue Dean and then he had to break him and rebuild him so they could bond at a molecular level. It was the only way to harness all that power.

He looked down at Mary. He felt relief because the desire to touch Mary was leaving him. That temptation didn't work on him. He felt nothing for the human female lying unconscious on the floor. She had provided all the information he needed. He had no further use for her except to act as bait to ensnare the nephilim. So without further thought, Michael ordered angels to take Mary back to the room with the swinging cage. There she would be placed and he would visit her from time to time when he wanted to use her to look in on memories of his vessel.

Over the next few weeks, nothing happened. Mary was left to hang in the cage and to wait for the arrival of the nephilim. And Michael was not disappointed. After days of Mary screaming out and calling 'Somebody help meee", Michael was finally rewarded when he sensed a shift in the air. He felt the presence first. As he entered the room he saw a young boy, no older looking than 18 years of age lying face down on the floor.

Mary seemed out of it in pain, but sensing she was not alone she opened her eyes and looked down at the stranger that was beginning to move on the ground. The boy looked around dazed and confused and then turned around so he could look straight up as the cage slowly turns revealing Mary's face. The boys stares and slowly recognises that he has found Sam and Dean's mother, Mary.

Michael smiles and before the nephilim has a chance to act, he moves quickly into the room and places the half breed in a trance. He smiles and whispers, "welcome to the bad place."


	10. 10 The road is paved with good intention

**Chapter 10: The road is paved with good intentions….**

 _ **About seven months ago….**_

It had only been a week since Kevin's latest prophecy had come to pass. Yet, despite the initial relief of seeing the power source lying helpless and lost at his feet, Michael was fast running out of patience, again.

He rapidly realised that the nephilim was in fact Lucifers' son, but unlike his brother, the child behaved more like a human than an angel, never name archangel. As Michael initially searched and probed through Jack's mind and soul, he couldn't find any of the malice and pure evil that his brother had. Instead, the mind and conscience was full of doing good, almost child like. Michael could see the child's role models plain and clear. From his mother's teary 'I love you's and you're good and special' to Sam Winchester's encouraging remarks of 'you're good and pure and I know you're nothing like your father'.

It is Michael's thoughts about Lucifer and the Winchesters that sours his mood further. It had been months since Lucifer escaped and even longer since his vessel had visited. He had been relieved when the nephilim arrived, but he was unsure as to how the child had got there, never name how could they harness it's powers to open a gateway big enough for Michael and his army of angels to pass through.

Michael was pulled from his thoughts by the boy muttering. He focused on what Zachariah was doing. It was yet again another attempt of Zachariah's to break and control the nephilim and to date it had proved useless. He wasn't sure what the child was seeing, but he sensed the angel was trying to focus on using his fear but it wasn't working. Bored with just waiting around, he decided to 'piggy back' on Zachariah's mind tricks and he too entered Jack's mind.

Immediately, Michael could see and hear the nephilim's thoughts. Zachariah had him back in the Men of Letter's bunker. Michael recognised it from Mary's torture sessions. That thought brought a small smile to his face, but he returned his attention to the matter at hand.

Jack woke up. He was back in his room in the bunker. He sighed with relief. Sam and Dean had some how saved him. He could hear them talking to him about how it was great to have him home again. Then he set up quickly when he heard the bunker's alarm go off. The lights were dimmed and the only light came from the red alarm lights that were flashing.

Then Sam and Dean began to scream for help. Jack looked towards the door and he could immediately see smoke started to come through the bottom of the door. He jumped up quickly and made his way out into the hall. Running towards the shouts of his two father figures, Jack stopped at the door to Sam's bedroom. He could hear both brothers screaming for help. Jack looked down to see flames whipping up under the door followed by more smoke.

The screams became more frantic. Jack couldn't physically burst down the door, so he did what he knew he could and that was to use all his power on the door, but it still wouldn't budge. Jack was in tears as he recovered from being thrown back against the wall. He realised he was powerless and useless and he couldn't save his loved ones.

As Michael and Zachariah both looked on, the illusion began to break down and the cracks of reality began to shine through. It was at this stage that Zachariah withdrew from the nephilims mind. Michael had now moved so he was now standing behind Jack. "Zachariah, these mind games of yours, aren't working." Michael was beginning to loose confidence in his Lieutenant.

"We're close. I'll keep trying." With this comment, Zachariah moved away from the nephilim who still remained frozen in a trance. Michael walked around the boy, "are you sure this half breed is our ticket to the other side?" Though Michael had faith, he couldn't believe that something as small, imperfect and insignificant as the abomination in front of him could wield such power. "Yes. And not just a single one way ticket. It's not just a spell. This boy. He can open a rift big enough to march an army through. He has so much power. We just have to make him use it."

Michael was still not truly convinced, but he had limited options. "Then make him!" Zachariah turned away from Jack and looked towards his leader. "Yes, commander." Michael gave a curt nod as Zachariah continued, "if fear won't break him, I think I know something that will." Zachariah moved back towards him with a renewed vigour and Michael followed him.

Jack found himself standing outside overlooking one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. Straight in front of him were mountains and lakes. He then turn round to take in stunning landscape and all of a sudden, his other father figure, Castiel, was standing nearby. Castiel stepped up to him. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Jack smiled when he saw his father. "Castiel?"

His father stepped forward. "I wanted you to see the natural world before it was spoiled. Humans have good intentions but they never truly appreciate the gift they were given. Left to their own devices, humans,… well they would destroy everything." Jack found this strange. His father loved humans and humanity, why would he come out with something like this? So Jack looked a little closer at Castiel and tried to think further on his words. "Why?"

Castiel turned towards Jack and started to raise his hands to Jack's face, "you've been so sheltered, let me show you." Jack stood still as Castiel bombarded his mind with images of ice caps melting, oils spills, and a host of other depressing and distressing images. "Humans. They take and they take. They can't help themselves. So you, you have to help them." With this comment, Castiel removed his hands from Jack's face. He continued, "Jack. You have the power to save it all and I can guide you. I can teach you some miraculous things."

Jack looked at Castiel, "what about Sam and Dean?" Castiel smirked slightly, "If only they accepted you instead of teaching you to fear your powers." Jack was taken back by this, "my powers?" Castiel interrupted, "because they fear them. Now if you would just do as I say…" It was at this stage, that Jack realised there was something really off about the Castiel that was standing in front of him. His Castiel loved Sam and Dean and would never talk about them like this.

"No, that's not true. I remember. I was with Sam and Dean the last time I used my powers and we got separated and I. was. In. the. Other. World!" Jack then raised his eyes, he realised he was being tricked. "You're not Castiel. None of this is real." And as soon as he finished his sentence, the angel's grin in front of him widen as flashes of lightening tended to break through from the world around him and before Jack knew it, he was back in the interrogation room within the fortress.

As he was still coming round, Michael came forward from behind the other angel Zachariah, and as he moved towards Jack he declared, "so much for killing them with kindness!" Jack looked on, "You! Michael!" Michael looked directly at the abomination in front of him and without any warning lashed out and punched Jack so hard the boy flew back six feet and crashed into the wall. He fell to the ground. It was so sudden it caught Zachariah by surprise. "My lord?" Without further thought, Michael turned and angrily threw Zachariah at least ten feet back across the room. "We tried it your way." Michael started to walk towards Jack. Jack was now coming around and trying to make an attempt to sit upright never name begin to crawl away from the furious archangel. "Now, we do it mine!" Following this, Michael reached down and grabbed a very weakened jack by the shirt and pulled him upright.

After roughing up the nephilim to the point of unconsciousness, Michael was forced to stop himself before he destroyed his ticket to 'paradise world'. Though, beating and torturing was his favourite way of extracting information and getting people to do what he needed them to do, he felt that a different approach may be needed. It was then that he remembered Mary Winchester. The abomination had been searching for her in order to ingratiate himself with the vessels. He would do anything to please the Winchesters. 'You would do anything even cross to a different universe and take a beating wouldn't you? What would you do to save Mary Winchester? I knew there was a reason I kept her around.'

Without much more thinking, Michael lifted Jack and began to trail him out of the torture chamber and down the long dark hallways of the fortress. Michael took out keys and unlocked a cell door and threw the nephilim into the cells and without sparing a glance at the other captive, the archangel closed and locked the door.

As the door slammed shut and was locked, Mary looked over towards the new guest. Lying in a mess in front of her was a young man, no older than 17 or 18 years of age. He was beginning to come round and as he sat up he looked at her. "Mary?"

Mary was surprised that he would know who she was. After all no one knew her here. She didn't belong to this world, but here, straight in front of her was someone who recognised her. She looked closer and he did look familiar but from where? "I've seen you before." But before Mary could continue, the excitement of the boy won over. "Your sons, Sam and Dean. They sent me." On hearing these words, was suddenly filled with hope. "are they here?" But as quick as hope appeared, it disappeared as Jack shook his head and said 'no'. Mary sat back, somewhat in despair and closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh thank God!"

"My name is Jack." On hearing his name, Mary became more interested as surely this couldn't be the same one, could it? "Jack? Your mother… wasn't Kelly Kline?" As she finished the question, Jack got excited, "you knew my mother?" Mary was now piecing things together. "I was there when you were born… but she um.." Before Mary could finish, Jack finished, "died, I know."

Looking at him even closer she tried to rationalise what her eyes were showing her and what she was hearing. "you should be six months old." Jack smiled, "I am. Sort of…" Mary couldn't believe it. This shouldn't be possible, but then again, she was a Winchester, and weird shit is what they did, wasn't it? Then her thoughts turned more tactical as she weighed up the situation. "Jack. How did you get here?" Jack lowered his eyes in thought. "I opened a door."

"To another world? You can do that?" Mary was curious as to the extent of Jack's powers. "I, um., Sam and Dean… we were coming to save you and then something went wrong and now, it's just… me. And Michael,,, I… tried to fight him, but he was in my head. He's trying to get me to use my powers, but I don't know why?" But Mary deep down knew why. "I do. You say he was in your head, well he was in my head too. And I saw everything. He's going to bring an army to our world…" Jack interrupted, "he wants me to open a door and… I won't he, he can't make me. I don't care how much he hurts me."

With Jack's remarks and having had a little time to think things through, Mary realised why Jack was placed in the cell with her. She smiled and put her head back against the wall. Jack noticed and smiled as if it reminded him of something either Sam and/or Dean used to do. "He's not going to hurt you Jack. He's going to hurt me. Why do you think he brought you here? So we would meet. So we would talk. And then when he comes back. If you won't do what he wants, he's going to kill me."

As the extent of Michael's plan sunk in with both Jack and Mary, Mary moved over towards the window to reflect and think. She had another headache. In fact, she had been having many headaches since arriving at the fortress. At first, she had thought it was the stress of where she was and what was being done to her, but now, she wasn't so sure. As she looked out through the window, hopes died as the view was as barren as the landscape she had walked through, when she arrived here with Lucifer. All around was greyness and dust, illuminated by lightening every so often.

Turning back to Jacks she said, "when Michael comes back, you let him kill me." Jack was clearly not happy with the plan. "what?!" Mary moved to kneel down beside Jack. " Do not open that door." Jack refused to agree with the plan, there had to be hope. "NO. No, we're getting out of here." Mary admired his passion, but how? "we can't." Mary's remarks were quickly countered with a 'yes we can'. "I was strong. I should be able to save us both, but everytime I try and use my powers here I can't. Things I should know how to do, it's … all wrong.. it's just my head." It was clear to Mary that Jack was really struggling to concentrate. Something she knew about as her headache roared into life again. "It doesn't stop pounding." Mary understood and then something clicked.

"Your head hurts?" Jack nodded in agreement. "Mine too! I've had migraines ever since they locked me in here. I thought it was from the torture, but.. maybe.. maybe this place has wardings so strong even humans can feel it." Jack added, "you think that's why my powers are not working?"

Mary thought further about the wardings and remembered as she looked at the criss-crossed designs on the windows, of how she loved to stand closer to the window as that was the only time she seemed to get peace. Then it clicked. "My headache. I have it everywhere except right here. This is the only place it ever lets up." Jack queried, "because the wardings weaker!" Filled with hope of escape, Jack walked towards the window and placed his hands on the criss-cross design and begin to use his power. It seemed to be working and as the window slowly disintegrated in front of them, Mary and Jack looked at one another and smiled, as they were one step closer to freedom. It was the first time in months, Mary had real hope of getting out of this world alive.

Michael was not amused. He stood looking out at the barren dusty landscape and pondered at what happened to the window. It had been totally destroyed. Part of him was impressed that the nephilim was able to use his powers, despite all the wardings. Part of him was pissed, as he was standing in an empty cell, whilst his only way of getting to the other world was out there, doing heaven knows what!

Turning towards Zachariah "Find him and bring him back to me." Zachariah asked for clarification, "and the woman?" Without hesitation, Michael said, "kill her. In front of the boy and make her feel it." Zachariah understood loud and clear and stepped backwards away from Michael. But before he could totally make his escape, the dreaded sentence was uttered from Michael's mouth, " Zachariah, don't fail me again." With his orders delivered, Michael turned back towards the window and looked out and tried to use his gifts to track the nephilim. Behind him, his Lieutenant nodded and quickly departed to find them and redeem himself.

They were moving as quickly as they could. Their only thought, get as far away from the fortress and from Michael. Mary kept looking back, checking that no one was following them. It was already dark. They had been running for a few hours now. Mary's attention was focused back on the nephilim as he asked, "how far to we're safe?" "here? Is there anything… shssss." She stopped talking and raised her hand and looked around. As she took in her surrounds, Mary noticed that there was a burned out shell of an old care or truck up ahead and when she looked closer she could see a figure coming forward.

Mary pulled Jack back and behind a large oil drum as two figures came into sight. Both had their faces covered, so it was difficult to identify whether they were, angel, demon, human or something else. As they passed by, Jack sighed, "I think they're gone." But no sooner had he the words out, when Mary heard the sliding of a familiar noise that meant someone cocked a gun. Then from behind one of the masks, a voice asked, "are you angel, demon or human?

Mary just about screamed, "HUMAN" and both Jack and Mary raised their hands immediately and started to rise to their feet. "We're human". Mary thought it better to not elaborate any further about Jack, just in case. Then the voice seemed to stare more at them. "Mary Campbell? It's Bobby… Singer." Bobby moved to remove his mask and show his face. Mary was surprised, the man in front of her seemed to know her and was shocked that she was alive.

Then the name clicked with Mary. "Bobby, my boys, they told me about you." Bobby seemed confused. "Boys?" Mary knew Bobby needed more info. "Dean.. and Sam.. Winchester." Then the penny seemed to drop for Bobby. "Oh, I remember, the day trippers. Right?"

Mary seemed to pick up that he had called her Campbell and not Winchester. "You called me Mary Campbell. Do you know me?" The smile seemed to fade slightly from Bobby's face, "well, knew you. The other you. She.. well.. hell, I thought you were a damn ghost. It turns out you're from a whole other world, which is.. well, it's weirder, when you think about it." It was at this stage that Bobby seemed to realise that there was another person standing beside Mary. "Who's the kid?" Delighted to have an opening, Jack raised his hand to say hi. "I'm Jack." But before Jack could say anything else, Mary entered 'protective mummy mode' and interjected, " friend of the family!" Bobby seemed to agree and nodded, "well. That's good enough for me. You better come with us." Everyone began to move off and out of the wastelands.

A few hours later, the small party of travellers arrived in a survivors camp. Bobby turned to welcome them. "Well. Welcome to home sweet home." Bobby seemed to scan around the camp and take in the injured. Both Mary and Jack also looked on with worry as reality seemed to dawn on both them. It was the reality of what it was like to try and live and survive in a world were Michael ruled.

Jack was the first to break the silence. "what happened to them?" Bobby simply replied, "angels happened." Jack looked around and took in the chaos and destruction. "angels did this?" Bobby was obviously used to this type of life, "They've done worse. Two days ago. Angel dive bombed a colony in San Antonio. 400 people. Not a soul left alive. This aint war. This is an extermination."

As Bobby continued to take in his reality, it dawned on Mary that they were probably bringing death to these people by being here. "Bobby? Michael… they'll be looking for us." No stranger to death and the threat of it, Bobby replied, "don't worry, we've got protocols protecting us. Wardings. Look outs in the trees. A few other tricks up our sleeves. Besides, Mary Campbell saved my ass more than a few times. It'd be rude not to return the favour." Mary blushed a little and smiled as she watched Bobby smile and walk away. It was settled and she could rest easier without fear that they would be turned out into the wilderness.

Mary watched as Jack seemed to settle into camp life really quickly. As she stared at the young man, she tried to grasp the fact that the being in front of her was barley six months give or take a few days, old. He was really a child in a man's body, struggling with an age old power but with a mind of a being that was less than a year old. She smiled as she realised how quickly she was bonding with Jack. A sad thought hit her. 'What about her boys, her other sons? It seemed so unfair. She had only really re-connected with them, when fate was cruel again, ripping her away from her family. Why?'

She was shaken out of her thoughts by laughter as the children in the camp were mesmerised by the shadow shapes jack was creating with his hands. He was smiling away, proud to be showing off his skills. Mary's eyes moved to meet the figure of Bobby Singer wandering towards her with most likely some sort of coffee or alcohol treat. As he handed her the cup, he said, "go easy. I added a nip of whiskey." Mary smiled and accepted the gifted and hugged it in appreciation. As she sipped the rare and special gift, Bobby looked on the carbon copy of his old friend. "I don't mean to stare, it's just… God… you look just like her, give or take a year or two."

Smiling at Bobby's comment, Mary thought she would ask him what she was like. "Mary Campbell was a complicated woman. Very sad, like full of regret." Mary felt bad, "let me guess, she made a bad demon deal?" Bobby disagreed and shook his head. "opposite, she didn't make one. She lost the love of her life, never moved on." Bobby seemed sad. Mary realised the significance now of her deal. "And Dean and Sam were never born."

Mary raised her eyes and met Bobby's, "Bobby, I made that deal, and it,… I brought my boys a lot of pain, but what happened here in you world. Sam and Dean stopped that in mine." Bobby acknowledged what she said, "then I'd say you made the right choice." The magnitude of destiny was not lost on either Mary or Bobby as they stood and took in their own conversation. "Well, I don't know much, but I do know that you done good by your boys. They hadn't been here five minutes when they were trying to convince me to come back with them to their world." As Bobby finished, Mary said, "but you said no." Bobby stopped her, "Mary, your world's got your boys. This place… I'm pretty much all it's got."

Both hunters settled into a easy calm, entertained by the giggles and laughs of the children. At that moment it was hard to believe that merely miles away, angels plotted the destruction of their race, but in that moment of time Mary thought this could be anywhere on her own world. She smiled as the air was filled with ohhs and ahhs and then she looked towards the source of the entertainment and it occurred to her that Jack had upped his game and was using his magic. Bobby noticed the shapes. "What is he, a witch? A psychic?" As Bobby turned back again, Mary thought on how to explain this and decided it was time to tell the truth. "Jack's a nephilim."

Mary knew it wasn't good as she watched the change in Bobby's face. "Excuse me?" Mary quickly added, "he's half angel, half…" Bobby was furious. "I know what it means, but what I don't get is why you would bring one into my camp. You know what angels have done to us. I.. I trusted you! I want him gone by morning." Mary sighed, "if he goes, I go with him." Bobby looked sad. "well the, that's your choice." Mary nodded and agreed.

Bobby seemed guilty and tried to explain further to Mary. "Look Mary, when this all started. When Lucifer and his demon army rose out of hell, we thought the angels were on our side. Well one by one they turned on us. He will too. It's just a matter of time." Bobby looked around and his eyes fell on Jack. He was sad, but it was probably the only way.

Time seemed to fly. Mary barely slept that night. She was worried what would happen the moment they left the camp. She was struggling with how she would break the news to Jack. She knew that in the short amount of time, the nephilim had really connected with the camp. How was she going to tell him, he wasn't wanted here and that they had to leave?

As she walked towards a very happy and smiling Jack, Mary spoke up, "you really like it here." Jack grinned, "these people, everyone's so brave." Mary decided there was no other option but to get to the point, "but we can't stay." She was met with a quick, 'why not? Because of me'. Mary continued, "I'm sorry Jack. It's not fair…" But before they could continue, alarms started to go off all round the camp as fire balls began to fall towards them. Bobby shouted, "take cover, we've got incoming!" As a fire ball crashed just a matter of a few feet from them, all of them watched as a shadow rose out of the smoke and in a matter of seconds, Zachariah walked forward. The reply was simple from Mary. "RUN!"

Running as fast as they could, Mary and Jack bumped into Bobby. "You! This is your fault!" Bobby was mad, but Mary tried to calm him down. "What? Bobby continued, "he used his powers. That's how they found us." Realising his folly, Jack stuttered out, "I didn't. I didn't mean to." Bobby snarked, "well, aint that just gravy." Mary decided to be practical in her approach as getting angry wasn't going to solve the problem. "What can we do to help?" Bobby give Mary the gun and told her grab as many children as possible and make towards escape tunnels under the grain cellar. Jack wanted to make amends as he blamed himself for what was happening. "I'll come with you", but Jack's request was met with a glare and a cold 'you've done enough' remark. Mary felt sorry for him and tried to soothe the situation a little. "Jack. The angels. We can't let them find you. So just find some place and hide." Jack nodded and watched the hunters walk away from them.

Zachariah was on a mission to prove himself. He knew he couldn't come back empty handed. Michael had been furious and failure now was not an option. It had been hours since the special human and the abomination of a nephilim had escaped. It should have been easy to catch up with them, but for some reason he couldn't sense them. He soon realised that they must have managed to ward themselves against angels. That wasn't good, and the longer he was looking for them, then the angrier his commander and chief would get.

He was beginning to lose hope and was starting to contemplate a quick obliteration at the hands of the archangel, when he sensed the use of nephilim grace and power. He smiled as he homed in on it. He could trace the power to a clearing in the words about 15 miles to the east. Without hesitation, Zachariah scrambled some of his troops from his garrison and attacked.

Zachariah thought he would have a show of strength, so he decided to announce himself like his commander liked to do, by arriving via fire ball. So as he rose out of the debris and the crater, he came face to face with humans. It was time to follow through on his orders and kill Mary Winchester very slowly and painfully and let the child watch.

He moved with determination to seek out his quarry. As he finished strangling one of the human fighters, he barked out orders to his troops, "find the child. Kill the rest!" The two other angels spread out looking for the nephilim.

Mary was frantically trying to gather up as many children as possible. As she searched, she came across another child. "shusssh. I got you." As she was lifting the child and getting ready to make her escape, she turned and was met by a very angry angel. "Mary Winchester?" Mary knew if she was captured, she would surely die. Michael had stated he had no further use for her, but her memory was hazy as if there were large chunks of time missing. But she had to focus on the now. "Run!" The young child did not need to be told twice.

Mary pointed the gun towards Zachariah. "The half breed. Where is he?" As Zachariah barked out his demands, Mary provided the traditional Winchester reply of 'Go to Hell!' It was met with 'witty'. As Zachariah moved to destroy Mary, the object of his quest came into view. "Stop!" Zachariah smiled. " Perfect timing. Enjoy the show." As Zachariah moved closer to Mary, Jack shouted, "I said stop!" Immediately the nephilim began to use his power whilst Bobby watched on in awe. Literally within seconds the angel disintegrated before him. The angels demise was followed by the obliteration of two incoming fire balls one after the other, and all without the nephilim breaking a sweat.

It wasn't long after this show of strength that the battle ended. As Bobby made his way around the wounded, he then made a beeline to Jack and Mary. "Well I don't know what to say except thank you." Mary smiled. "Jack what you did was amazing." Jack was happy that he had made the right decision. Whilst running, it felt right to stop and try and fight and save as many people as he could. "I had to come back. Sam and Dean – they wouldn't run. They'd stay and fight. These angels know what they're doing and aren't going to stop. As long as Michael's out there, this war will never be over."

Bobby listened intently. "sooo, what are you saying?" Jack continued, "I have to kill him." As Jack finished speaking, everyone took in the sincerity and his seriousness. Jack had every good intention of making this his personal mission to take out Michael. Too much had happened and he would do whatever it took, no matter what the personal cost.


	11. Chpt 11 - Let's bring him back alive

_Note - Sorry for the delay, but as a present for your patience, here's a longer chapter. Enjoy._

 **Chapter 11: Let's bring him back!**

 _ **Set about 4 and a half months ago…**_

'Traveling through a rift in space in time was surprising quick and painless. Well considering my threshold to pain was hugely different from most normal human beings that went without saying. It was surprising what tended to happen to me. One minute, I'm in expensive suits, with an equally flashy expense account and then the next minute, I'm running for my life from hells equivalent of a juiced up evil Colonel Sanders. Who would have thought it. Now here I am having to leave one universe and hide in an apocalyptic alternative world in order to survive. Such is life for me now.'

The landing was better than expected as Ketch found himself now in a kneeling stance as he entered the new universe. He looked to his right and found his once arch enemy, now 'friend' or maybe better described as 'frienemy' crouching right beside him. Ketch took a few seconds to look at where they had been spat out. His first impression was one of no surprise. He already had Asmodeus's report that this alternative world was a bombed out shell of a world, so landing in a snow cladded forest wasn't the worst landing zone to come across.

Keen to build on some sort of friendship with Dean, Ketch decided to break the ice so to speak, "Ah. Ah. Ah. Oh well, here we are". Ketch was met with the elder Winchester looking around at the landscape with a confused look on his face. Ketch was filling up with dread. They already had limited time to find Mary and the nephilim. Dean had to know where he was and more importantly, where he needed to go to. Dean seemed to be trying to cover, with a unsure 'yeah', but Ketch was having none of it, when he saw Dean do a complete 360 degree turn and his eyes widen in shock.

"You do know where we are, don't you? Because not to be a nag, we've only got 24 hours…. " It was clear that Dean was not done defending himself and interrupted Ketch with, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me a minute." "… until the rift closes." Dean continued with his defence, "Look, we've just got spin cycled through space and time. Ok and yes, this is different from my last drop by." Ketch was clearly not amused and he couldn't help glaring and biting his lip to stop himself from saying something else, as he thought to himself, 'so much for starting off on a positive footing with Dean.'

Dean barked up, "What's this WE crap? You came here to save yourself, so,… go save yourself somewhere else." With the statement, Dean started to march off away from Ketch. Ketch had to think quickly. His trip to this world, was more than just escaping from Asmodeus. He was looking for some sort of atonement for all the things he had done and what better way than to save Mary Winchester and to help her son. "Well, actually I thought I could help….." Dean turned quickly toward him and said, "What?" Ketch chose to ignore and continued, "… find the boy and your mother. She's in danger. I owe her that."

Dean seemed to smirk at Ketch's comment. "Well, if she sees you, she'll probably kill you, again." Ketch couldn't blame her, after all he had behaved horribly towards his former lover and Dean's mother. "Perhaps, but you don't know where you are or what's out there or even.. you get the picture.. (it was difficult as Ketch couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that Mary could be dead) .. would having a little bit of back up really.. be.. so.. bad?" Ketch took in Dean's expression. Despite frowning, the American hunter seemed to be considering his offer. Dean nodded and both men started to move off.

Meanwhile back at the fortress…..

The past few months had been ranging from irritating to dam well infuriating for Michael. The archangel paced the length of his personal chamber. Military victories had been few and far between since the abomination of an arch nephilim escaped and joined up with the human resistance. In fact, his trusted Lieutenant Zachariah had not only failed to kill Mary Winchester and retrieve the nephilim but he had somehow managed to get an entire garrison of angels obliterated by the same 'spawn of Satan'.

As part of his counter offensive, Michael decided to focus on identifying the resistance leaders and routing them out one by one with the aim of killing them. He had already sent Zachariah's replacement, Tobias to seek out, capture, interrogate and execute resistance leaders in the north eastern area. He was impressed (well as impressed as Michael gets with lowly seraphs) with the dark haired angel, Tobias. He had potential, but only as long as he didn't fail like Zachariah had.

It was in the middle of Michael's musings over a certain nephilim, that Michael felt a strange but familiar tugging sensation coming from the centre of his chest or really from the centre of his true form. At first, he thought it was merely annoyance at the current losses, but as he focused on the feeling he recognised that the last time he had felt this was when his 'sword' had arrived in this universe.

'Surely this cannot be. The prophet hasn't had a vision about Dean Winchester coming back, so what was this really?' Michael was unsure what was happening, but more important, what was he going to do? Before Michael could think about what his next steps could be, he had to understand more about what was really going on. So without further ado, Michael entered a trance like state and used one of his gifts he began to seek out and find one newly arrived Dean Winchester.

Ketch and Dean had been walking for a few hours now and were now crossing under a bridge just down by a river bank. The water looked so freezing as Ketch tried to avoid getting his boots wet. The former BMOL watched as Dean took the lead. He took a few minutes to watch the hunter and despite still keeping a look out for hostiles, Ketch allowed his mind to wander and contemplate the mystery in front of him, of one Dean Winchester.

If he was honest with himself, he had a strange admiration for the elder Winchester. Normally, it was difficult for Ketch to admit he was wrong, but wrong, so wrong he was on the Winchesters. On first coming across the brothers, he thought of them as nothing more than mindless thugs, who lacked the strength, intelligence and drive to be a 'Man of Letters.' But time and time again, both Sam and especially Dean surprised him and he had learned the very hard way to never ever underestimate Dean Winchester. As Ketch looked at Dean now, he could see how determined he was to find his mother and Jack.

Ketch took in his surroundings and remarked when he passed by the remains of a human that had been burned to a nearby tree trunk, "Well this is looking like quite the vacation spot." Dean quipped, "well, if you had your heart set on myties, well.. sorry." Ketch looked the hunter up and down whilst Dean kept looking around trying to decide what the best direction was. Dean expanded his area and looked behind him at where they had come from as well as up at the bridge. It was then that Dean froze when he saw figures walking across the bridge. Ketch followed Dean's gaze and saw soldiers taking a number of hooded prisoners across the bridge.

Dean made the call that the new arrivals were indeed hostile and indicated to Ketch to take cover so they could observe without being detected. Dean whispered, "down, down, down, down. Get down." Ketch didn't really have to be told twice as he too made for the cover of the bushes and trees. As Ketch looked up again, he could now see there were at least four angels and three prisoners. The blond haired angel that seemed to take lead stopped around the centre of the bridge. It was then, that a dark haired angel moved up from the rear to speak with the other angel.

Ketch listened to the conversation as the blonde angel asked, "yes commander." The dark haired looked at his prisoners, "for high crimes fermenting rebellion against the archangel Michael, these humans shall be executed." Ketch watched in silent horror as the hood was removed from the first prisoner and the angel raised his hand and smoot the human female. Ketch realised that Dean wasn't standing for this and was preparing to attack and that was just not on mission enough for Ketch. As Dean moved into an attack stance, Ketch grabbed his hand, "Not smart!" Thankfully the impulsive hunter seemed to stop and listen to what Ketch was saying.

The dark haired angel executed the second prisoner and moved to kill the last one, when he seemed to recognise her. "Wait!" At the same time, Ketch realised that Dean recognised the prisoner, when he heard, "Charlie?". Ketch tried to hide his surprise but couldn't, but he couldn't think too long on this as up on the bridge the dark haired angel continued, "I know you. You're not the usual human scum." Ketch watched as the prisoner, Charlie held her ground and looked the angel up and down in disgust. "Not the slickest pick up line Captain Charm." Ketch was impressed, but the angel wasn't. "You're with the resistance inner circle." Both Ketch and Dean eyes shot up at this comment. The other angel said, "she's met with the nephilim and the other worlder, Mary." That got everyone's attention. The dark haired angel stated, "Michael will want her at the northern camp for interrogation." Charlie smirked and stood her ground. "When the resistance crushes you, I'm going to be there to shred your feathers and grind them into dust." Ketch grabbed Dean's arm to stop the hunter from intervening. The dark haired angel had not liked Charlie's response as he seemed to growl out "looking forward to it."

Before Ketch and Dean could do anything else, everyone disappeared of the bridge. Immediately, Ketch noticed a change in the man standing next to him. Ketch got the feeling the mission had been altered slightly. He said nothing and just followed Dean, who now walked even quicker.

An hour or so later, Dean seemed more determined than ever, but Ketch was weary and unhappy as Dean seemed to march on without due consideration for his surroundings. Dean had a new directions and mission. 'This Charlie is important to Dean. But who is she to him? Her name had not come up a year ago. Mary never mentioned her and the BMOL had no records of a red haired female named Charlie. Is she so important, that Dean will change focus?' Ketch was slapped back to reality when a branch hit him on the face.

As they marched forward, Ketch watched with increased worry as he took in how Dean was more and more ignoring his surroundings, it was only a matter of time before they were ambushed in some way by hostiles unknown. Ketch decided he needed to take the lead otherwise they were going to wander into trouble. So with out further thought, he disappeared behind a tree. It was only a few seconds when Dean turned round and shouted, "what's the hold up?" Ketch was pissed by the noise Dean had made as he stepped out from behind the tree.

In a pissy voice he said, "Ohh, just practicing stealth." Dean looked confused by his actions. " you know the art of infiltrating a hostile and unfamiliar environment whilst remaining undetected. Hence free. Hence affective. You, I see prefer the usual bull in a china shop technic. Remind me again, why we're risking everything to rescue this girl?" Dean answered, "because she's seen my mum. She's seen Jack." Ketch argued on, "and you're sure that what this is about? You're sure this is not personal?" Ketch then entered into yet another staring match. After a while, the Brit watched as Dean closed his eyes and said, "we're running out of time. Let's pick up the pace." Ketch realised that Dean considered the conversation over as he watched the Winchester's back move away from him as he marched on. Ketch decided stealth was still the best option and took the necessary procedures. Sadly, it wouldn't take long until he was proved right.

In fact, it took just over 30 minutes before trouble found them. Ketch watched again, as Dean turned and shouted out in frustration, "Ketch. Come on!" But both were taken by surprise by a gun shot as Dean turned round and was hit by a bullet to his right shoulder. The British ex BMOL witnessed the hunter fall backwards and it was clear that he was in trouble and in pain. Before Ketch could move from his position, he noticed that another figure had moved out from behind a tree to their far right and was moving towards Dean.

On realising he was being hunted, Dean had turned onto his stomach and was trying to crawl away from the stranger, but it was useless. Ketch knew he had to intervene, but he needed to think out the best strategy. The man had a gun that needed to be neutralised. Meanwhile, he felt for what pain Dean must be going through as the stranger seemed to be trying to capture and not kill Dean. His observation was vindicated as the human grabbed Deans shoulder and then his arm and moved them to a position behind his back where he could restrain the hunter. All the movement was making Dean cry out in pain. The stranger pushed Dean down further and snarked out, "Oh, you're a strong one. The angels will pay double for you."

Ketch overheard this comment and was fearful for both of them. Being traded to angels as slaves was not what he had envisaged when he decided to come across to this world. Dean began to struggle more when he heard what the man had planned for him. Dean seemed to want to shout out for help but Ketch only heard grunts of pain from the elder Winchester along with the man talking, "most of the slaves are a might scrawny." The man moved quickly and began to tie Dean's hands behind his back. Ketch felt Dean's pain as the hunter let out another shriek. Ketch realised he needed to end this now before Dean was secured and within seconds Ketch had leaped on the man and pushed him off Dean and knocked the gun out to the ground.

Both Ketch and the stranger fell and continue to wrestle with one another. Ketch seemed to get the upper hand and he thought he needed more intel. "where were you going to take him? Do you want to live?" Unfortunately, Ketch was no match for this stranger, who obviously had many years of surviving in this apocalypse world and the stranger had managed to flip Ketch over and gain the advantage. But just as Ketch thought this was probably going to end badly for him, two gun shots rang out. 'Thank you Dean Winchester!'

"You heard him, where were you going to take me?" Dean question left the stranger with no option that he demanded an answer. Ketch was impressed how the Winchester could one minute be so carefree and the next so commanding. Dean had raised his gun at the stranger but sadly the man had obviously never met the 'famous Dean Winchester' before and thought he didn't have to tell him anything. "You think I'm going to tell you." Ketch new what was coming before the bullet went through the man's leg and he feel to his knees. Dean seemed to move with grace and finesse as he came closer and grabbed his shirt. "let's try that again."

Realising further resistance was pointless, the man mentioned a silo. As Dean queried what he meant, the man continued, " POW camp. 4 to 5 hours from here." Ketch looked to the direction the man seemed to indicate they should travel. "Follow the road." As the man stopped talking, Dean seemed to realise there was no further information required and took the opportunity to extract a little revenge for getting shot as he punched the man unconscious. Ketch noticed that as the hunter went to stand up he seemed to wince in pain from the gunshot wound in his shoulder. He noticed how Dean raised his left hand to his shoulder as he took the pain, but it was obvious that Dean was down playing the pain as much as possible.

As they both moved off towards the POW camp, Ketch couldn't help but feel uneasy. There was something niggling at the back of his mind as if something wasn't just quite right but he couldn't be sure. After about 10 minutes of walking his thought process had him focusing in on the gun shot as the source of his unease. Getting shot in the shoulder was bloody painful. He knew from personal experience, but everything about this world screamed that nothing was ever simple. But he had to put his concerns to one side as there was a long way to travel and he knew one thing – he was going to have to keep a closer eye on the elder Winchester, just in case. Because he knew the elder Winchester was never going to admit he needed help, and not from someone like Ketch.

With his thoughts put in line, the ex BMOL assassin marched forward with the mission and give less thought to the niggling feeling and at times the odd feeling that they were being watched, but for the life of him, he couldn't identify a clear threat. But he would continue to be vigilant.

It hadn't taken Michael long to locate his vessel. In fact, he had enjoyed taking the journey (in his trance like form) with his 'sword' as the special human seemed to be looking for someone. Unfortunately, the fun seemed to come to an abrupt end for Michael when his essence buzzed (and not in a good way of buzzing). Though, it physically didn't hurt him, Michael knew his vessel had been injured in some way and it took every piece of strength within himself, to not come out the trance there and then and fly straight to where is vessel was and lay waste to everything in a hundred mile radius. In fact, as he thought further on the matter, why didn't he just go and grab the vessel and then he would be able to both take his 'sword' and go through the rift back to 'paradise world'?

The impulsive part of Michael screamed to steal Dean Winchester away and take possession of the vessel and from there he would be able to cross over worlds. But Michael was not impulsive and he knew that there was a better way to do this and it was not time. He would know when it would be time, because his Father would send a message via his prophet. And as an obedient son, no matter how much Michael wanted to move on Dean Winchester, he knew he had to wait. Angered by his own obedience and subservience, Michael threw an energy blast towards the nearest object, which happened to be an alter and obliterated it into thousands of pieces. He knew he couldn't indulge his desires to join with his vessel just yet, but he did believe he could get a little closer but not intervene, so with that thought, he completely broke out of his trance and he took flight and flew towards his vessel, but first he had a pit stop to make.

It didn't take Michael long to find the pitiful excuse for a human who had dared to touch never name damage his vessel. Fuelled with righteous frustration, Michael thought of different ways to take out his frustration and then he had an epiphany. What better way to extract vengeance, than for the mud monkey to have a face to face with the ruler of heaven and for a very special discussion on the importance of not touching or stealing what is his to take place. He felt like toying with the inferior creature. The archangel found the man very close to where Dean had encountered him.

The man jumped into a defensive stance when he heard the ruffle of wings as Michael landed and announced his presence in all its glory. Unfortunately for the human, he seemed to recognise who the angel was in front of him. Immediately the human's survival instincts kicked in and he fell on his knees and bowed his head. Shaking and stuttering, the human managed to get some words out. "Lord Mi.. Mi… Michael. Mmmy My Lord, as your servant, I. I am yours to command." As the human managed to utter a few pathetic words of submission, Michael looked upon him and began to smile. Sadly for the human he seemed to misunderstand and interpret Michaels smile as good news for him. 'Oh how wrong you are because you touched something that did not belong to you.'

"Yes… Yes, you are mine to command aren't you." As Michael said the words aloud he smiled and shifted his head to one side and looked straight into the eyes of the human. "Tell me parasite, as Commander of earth, who owns the forest you find yourself in?" Perplexed by the question, the human's eyes widened as he sought out what the 'right' answer would be. As quite rightly, the wrong answer would most likely end with sudden death for him. After some deliberation the human decided to go with the obvious 'you do, Lord Michael' and then hold his breath and wait for the inevitable.

"That's correct. I do. Tell me, when you hunt in MY woods, who owns the deer and the water from the nearby river?" Michael's tone of voice never changed. His facial expressions like his voice remained devoid of all emotion. "Yyou do, Lor, Lord Michael. You do. A an and on that I beg your forgiveness from taking from you, but I exist to serve and with the sustenance, I was hunting for any escaped slaves and rebels to bring to your angels." The man realised he had struck some sort of nerve with the Commander of Heaven and felt it was better to grovel so he babbled on… " That's right, even just 30 mins ago your Lordship, I came across strong humans who would have served heaven's cause well, but sadly, the 5 no I mean 10 of them overpowered me. I'm so sorry, if only I hadn't been a weak human, but please forgive me sire. I will atone, please just give me the chance. I know I can do better. In fact, I hit one of them with poison that will weakened him. He's strong and healthy. Just perfect for the work camp. I.."

Unfortunately, on hearing enough, Michael raised his hand and squeezed his fist and with his mind, the human screamed in pain as Michael slowly crushed a few bones in his chest. As the human's breathing become more laboured, Michael spoke up. " I know what you did human, but unfortunately for you, like most things in this forest and indeed across the earth, the man you touched. No let me be more clear. The man you damaged was not yours to try and take. He was mine. Do you understand? The human you shot and I now know you have poisoned him, was my property. MINE!" Michael was practically shouting the last word at the human, who now was beginning to realise how hopeless the situation really was and had begun to shake and before long, Michael could smell urine.

Looking the human up and down in disgust, Michael wished to drag out this out for a little longer. "You touched and damaged something so special, it's one of a kind. Do you know that? The human you decided to steal was one in a mill… no one in nearly 8 billion and you have tried to defile him with a dirty poison! You have tried to desecrate something so special, that my father had taken the time to specially create, just for me. Do you understand. Human. Just exactly how. mad. I. am. with. You?"

The human knew he would not survive this encounter but Michael could tell from his eyes that he was struggling with trying to understand what made the human so special. Michael chugged out a short laugh. "When I'm down wading through the mud looking at all you monkies, I too find it hard to single out the special from the mundane. But hear me human, there are not many special humans who currently walk this planet, but you had the honour of meeting one of them. But fear not, as your mistake can be easily corrected, but as you probably realise, you won't get the chance to correct it, will you Earl Watkins?" With the question, Michael raised his hand and placed it on the human's head. "I was going to take my time and painfully extinguish the life from you, but I now have more important things to attend to, like fixing what you have done. Soooo, I will make this quick." He had no sooner spoken when a flash a light emanated from the archangels' hand and burnt the soul out of the unfortunate Mr Earl Watkins. As the body fell to the ground in a heap, Michael turned his smiting hand towards his face and looked at it closer.

'Soon the hand that I use to destroy and then rebuild a new world will be different. Soon, I will be even more powerful and through my sword, I will lay waste to all that oppose me.' With this thought, Michael vanished and flew invisible towards his vessel. He was happy to be closer and to take advantage of this surprising but unforeseen reunion.

They had been walking for a few hours now and darkness had eventually arrived. As Ketch walked ahead now, he looked down at the new weapon he had managed to commandeer from the man in the woods. "That hunter may have been a bumpkin but his weaponry is cutting edge." He had almost respect for the man, but his thoughts turned darker as he looked behind to find Dean was walking much slower than normal. It was clear the elder Winchester was struggling with the bullet wound, but in typical Winchester stubbornist, Dean was refusing to stop and ask him for help. Ketch tried not to stare, but he could see the hunter was tiring even by the way his gun was being held in his injured hand.

Thinking on how to raise the topic of Dean's physical state, Ketch pondered further and decided to try a different approach. Turning to show the bullets to Dean, he said, "these I don't even recognise." As he raised the bullets, he could see that Dean was becoming sluggish and breathless. "Yeah.. Angel killing bullets. You may want to hang onto them."

Ketch took another look over at Dean and as he did he saw the hunter wince in pain and turn his head. This time it was too obvious to ignore. "You don't look good!" Though, he had managed to keep his tone as caring as he possibly could, Dean decided to deflect. "Well, you're not my type either. I'm fine!" Ketch decided that something had to give. "We'll take a break. Your wound may be more serious that we thought." And once again, Dean tried to make light of the situation. "He barely hit me. We don't have time for this. Come on." With these brave words Dean repositioned his rucksack now on this left shoulder and began to walk on, looking forward and trying to concentrate on anything but the pain.

The ex British MOL was not fooled by Dean's act and shook his head. "By all means. What was it with you and this earthly Charlie? Old girl friend? Let me guess, she broke your heart." As Ketch continued with his mild mannered mini tirade, he seemed to miss Dean begin to really struggle and within seconds the hunter closed his eyes in pain and swayed to his left. This was followed by him reaching out as if he was trying to ascertain what was really in front of him and he managed to just about grab hold of a nearby tree to keep him upright. Sadly, as there really wasn't a tree, he fell to the ground.

"Dean!" On seeing the hunter basically collapse, Ketch moved to his side to see what was really happening. Thankfully Dean was still conscious and had managed to move himself, so he was sitting with his back to a tree stump. As Ketch knelt over him he began to fuss. "Oh God, you're burning up. Let's take a look at that wound." As Ketch removed his hand from Dean's head, the hunter managed a rather weak reply. "no, I'm fine. We gotta keep moving." Thankfully Ketch had decided enough was enough. "Doo… shut up!" And with this remark, ketch ripped at the top of Dean's t-shirt. Ketch's eyes couldn't help but widen when he took in the wound in front of him. He knew from looking at it that it was no ordinary wound, somehow the Dean had been unlucky to have been poisoned.

Dean seemed to recognise from Ketch's expression that something wasn't right. "How's it look, mum?" Ketch huffed out a breath he was holding and couldn't hide his concern any longer. He knew he had to work fast if he was going to counter the poison and save Dean. Without giving it further thought, Ketch turned and began to unload some stuff from his backpack as well as find some sort of stone to ground some stuff on. Within minutes, he was mixing the antidote. It was quick and dirty, but it would be effective.

Ketch could feel Dean's eyes on him , watching everything that he did whilst he muttered the ingredients to himself, both to reassure Dean that he was in fact keeping him in the loop as well as reassuring himself that he hadn't forgotten any key ingredients. Dean seemed to be nervous and in his usual bravado, he thought he would make a joke of the situation. "Why don't you skip the bird seed and give me the flask?"

"Your shortness of breath and delirium are symptoms of poison MOL use to disable monsters in the field." With this information, it was clear Dean felt he had to interrupt. "Course it is." And with the comments, the hunter closed his eyes as the pain seemed to increase. "My guess is, the bounty hunter used a similar toxin to coat his bullets to hobble his prey…." As Dean seemed to take this in, Ketch continued to break down the ingredients into a paste and to gather the paste so he could use it directly on the wound. "…at first." As he said this, he moved towards Dean with the paste. "What do you mean at first?" With this Dean seemed to turn his head to directly look at Ketch for the answer. "Well… if the antidote isn't administered, then the victim dies a particularly… gruesome.. death." The last few words were embarrassing. He felt ashamed as he said them and he bowed his head to avoid eye contact with Dean. This was a part of his past that he was not proud of and having to give voice to this just reminded him that he had much to atone for.

Thankfully the elder Winchester seemed to understand guilt and self loathing and decided that it was probably better that this be made light of. "You guys are such dicks!" Ketch managed a small smile as he moved closer to begin what he knew would be nothing short of excruciatingly painful. "Yes. Well. Guilty. Now!" As Dean began to prepare himself for whatever pain was coming Ketch continued. "This. Will. Smart!" Ketch watched as the hunter got ready and he moved two of his fingers covered in the paste towards the wound. Dean puffed out a gasp as the paste was applied to the wound. It obviously stung. To help calm the hunter, Ketch kept uttering 'good lad' over and over again until the antidote was fully administered. Ketch was impressed as the hunter managed to keep quiet and only twitched and winced in pain as Ketch continued to add more paste to the wound.

Michael watched silently as he took the time to take in the scene in front of him. He had arrived to find the his vessel leaning up against a tree stump and having a paste spread across his shoulder. Michael chose to remain invisible as he felt this was a great way to learn first hand as much as possible about Dean Winchester and what his limits might be or how hard he could push him, pain wise. Up to now he had only other people's memories and views on his vessel. And as useful as other people's observations are, there was nothing more accurate that a direct read.

He listened as the darker haired human offered words of encouragement as he applied the paste. On quickly checking, he had to be impressed that they had managed to scramble together the actual cure for the poison. The archangel had thought he was not needed, but he thought better of this as he should really stay and ensure that his vessel gets a bit stronger, especially as the vessel was injured and having to keep walking through snow and plummeting temperatures. Michael kept assuring himself that this was the reason he wanted to stay. 'It's not to spend time with him, no I mean my vessel. No, it's just I feel more complete when I'm closer to my vessel. That's all. I've no interest in understanding or getting to know my vessel's host. No desire to know him. Well I need to know him, but only so I can find a way of getting that important yes from him. That's all. Really isn't it?'

As Michael's mind tried to rationalise his fixation with wanting to be close to his vessel, but not in fact secure the vessel, he almost missed some important conversation. Whilst he had been internally debating his actions, both humans had risen to their feet and had begun to walk forward. As Michael came back out of his mind, he watched as his vessel continued to struggle as the darker haired man took the lead. Michael fought hard to not intervene as he watched his vessel bend forward a little more in pain. It was clear Dean Winchester was still recovering from the wound. 'What is so important, that you have to prioritise over your health and well being?' In fact, this was the thought that was consuming Michael more and more with every footstep he watched Dean take. It was clear that he was suffering, but the determination to keep going left Michael with two things to ponder. One, of how stubborn his vessel was and this was going to pose a problem later on and secondly, whatever it was, Dean cared deeply to the point he would sacrifice his own self. 'Interesting. Very interesting. Perhaps this is something I can use later.'

As both continued to walk, Dean's breathing became more laboured. Michael watched on as his vessel seemed to reach a breaking point of some kind. "Ok… ok, ok, ok, OK." The other human seemed to be concerned as he talked about how absurd it was and that he needed to rest. Michael settled to watch the interaction between the two. "OK, I give you this, your anti poison merit badge award. I do appreciate it but we're running out of time, so.. eh.. How about you rest. I'm gonna keep going." Michael smiled as he watched his stubborn vessel attempt to get up and soldier on, but as Michael saw coming. Dean only managed a few feet before he, less than gracefully, collapsed onto the snow. Michael managed to catch a muffled 'in five minutes'. With these words Dean seemed to close his eyes and let exhaustion take him. Michael heard the other human reply and sit down. As Michael began to consider that he was needed back at his fortress, he heard the conversation turn more personal as the other human, Ketch, asked to discuss their new mission. Michaels' ears pricked up when he overhead Ketch ask his vessel, "Perhaps we can use this moment to revisit the Charlie issue."

The archangel watched with fascination as his vessel scrunched up his face in pain. It was clear that he really did not want to have this conversation with the other human. "Not gonna happen." The other human seemed to push citing that they were running out of time and Michael took more interest when he heard ".. we don't know where your mother and Jack are. We don't even know if we'll even find this Charlie. And if we do, a rescue may be impossible AND stupid. I propose we return home. Regroup and reinforce ourselves and we may have a shot at saving everyone."

After a minute or so Dean seemed to relinquish whatever problems he had with this idea and give in. "OK, look. I'm gonna repeat myself. Charlie's not gonna give the angels what they want." Michael was interested in who this Charlie was and what was the relationship or more importantly connection to his vessel? It was clear that this Charlie was from the apocalypse world and NOT like Mary or Jack. Was this additional leverage? His thoughts were interrupted as his vessel continued. "They're gonna kill her. 100% and I'm not…." Michael watched as Dean looked distant. It was clear there was something important about this person, something that had lead to his vessel having remorse and guilt. Ask the other human demanded the full story, his vessel finally give up his secret. Michael listened as Dean spoke. "Charlie was like family. She was a sister to me. She did more for me and Sam than I can ever say. And she was.. she was butchered. And we couldn't get there in time and I.. "

Michael almost forgot that he was not part of this conversation, as he moved closer and watched the heartbreak manifest within his vessels eyes. It was clear the guilt Dean was carrying. Michael smiled. This was something he could work with and as he pondered on the information further he realised that when the time came, he knew exactly the situation that Dean needed to be in, in order for Michael to secure a yes and a strong and resounding yes. With this information, he felt the caring sharing moment between the two was over and without waiting to hear anything else, he flapped his wings and within seconds he was back at his fortress and was preparing for the next vision. A vision he hoped that would finally show him securing his vessel and journeying to the other world. He hoped and prayed to his father that his loyalty and devotion would be rewarded. Surely, with everything that had come to pass, his reward would be soon and with his reward he would receive a new guidance or revelation as to what his true path now was.

Ketch listened as Dean finally shared more information on the elusive Charlie. On hearing the hunter's story he knew what Dean was going through. Ketch nodded as Dean seemed to remember his friends' death. "That I understand." As both men seemed to quietly contemplate the failures in their lives, Dean seemed to want to move the conversation on. "Alright, what about your story you're not telling me?" Ketch moved slightly away from Dean. "Ah, I've had many failures. Friends and colleagues who have died on my watch. The only difference is that I didn't try and save them. Duty and all that… rubbish."

In true Dean style, it was at this stage that Dean obviously felt the 'chick flick' moment they were rapidly descending towards was truly over. "Well you do suck!" With these words, Ketch smirked. "What the hell. Perhaps, rescuing this Charlie will wash some of the stain off my hands." With these words he stood and reached out to help Dean up. As Dean rose to his feet, he couldn't resist adding, "impossible and stupid, huh?" He followed this with a smile and it was clear to Ketch, that finally after all they had been through together, they had somehow managed, in the middle of this bombed out apocalypse world, to have reached some sort of new type of understanding. 'Who knows, maybe there is hope.' Dean interrupted Ketch's thoughts, "you say that as if it's a bad thing. Come on." As Dean tapped Ketch's shoulder they began to walk out again. This time with a renewed vigour to finish the job and get home.

Tobias stood outside the interrogation hut. He had been at this for hours and was increasingly losing his patience. His Commander and Chief had made it clear to seek out the resistance leaders and gain as much intelligence as possible. The aim was to understand their strengths and weaknesses and then take out the human leaders. It was a simple plan and required simply obeying, but for some reason Tobias was faced with one of the most stubborn humans he had ever come across in a millennia. Though he would deny having the rather human emotion, Tobias was increasingly becoming frustrated, angry and a little afraid.

He was frustrated because this 'Charlie' was not breaking at all and obviously he was angry. But he was afraid as every angel would be of failing Michael. Michael was not known for his understanding especially if those under his command failed to follow out even the most simplest of order. So here was Tobias facing what should have been a weak human female. It shouldn't have been difficult, but it was impossible.

He huffed again and took in the snow clad landscape. He really needed to get a promotion and lifted out of this hell hole that he resided in known as the northern camp. The camp really consisted of nothing more than a few cabins or out houses as well as what used to be a large grain store. It was surrounded by a tall barbed wire fence and wooden gates. It wasn't the most secure of buildings, but surrounded by angels, it was secure enough to hold the small number of human workers or slaves that resided there. With the thought of the prisoners, his attention turned back towards the annoying prison – Charlie Bradbury.

Tobias re-entered the room were Charlie was being questioned. Walking over to her he said, "one more time… the location and number of bases the resistance holds?" Not holding out for a real answer, he watched as the human female raised her head. "One more time. Bite me!" This was quickly becoming the last straw. Tobias was not happy and he reached out and grabbed her hair. "You try my patience." This seemed to evoke a different reaction to the human. 'Perhaps she is breaking!' "Sorry. Sorry. I'll try harder. BITE ME!" 'maybe not'. As his patience ran out, he punched her and watched as she fell to the floor. "This is pointless. She dies tomorrow." With the decision taken, he walked away to consider how to break this news to the Archangel Michael.

As he left the room just as the dawn was beginning. He took some time to think through his next steps. As the sunlight spread across the landscape, Tobias decided he would start the day right. And what better way than providing a clear message to all others in the camp and beyond, that resistance was not an option. Decision made, Tobias decided he would move up the execution of the human dissident to now. As he turned his back and moved back in to speak with his guards, he didn't see the arrival of two off worlders who began to stake out the camp to ascertain the best way of taking it down.

The human slaves were paraded out on display. Tobias relished the power. He marched out of the cabin carrying the execution papers. He was so excited to end the life of a rather irritating human that he didn't see two heavily armed and trained humans prepare to attack. Instead, Tobias pranced up to stand in front of the humans and decided to make a big smug speech. "The resistance will be broken. It is being broken. One by one your leaders are being routed out and destroyed. Soon there'll be none of you left."

As Tobias procrastinated, three angels dragged Charlie out from interrogation and tied her to the execution post. He turned to her and said, "for high crimes, the prisoner Charlie Bradbury, like all her traitors before her will be executed." Tobias smirked as he watched a masked angel come out from the hut carrying a large sword. Tobias found that human's responded more when there was more drama and flare. So the goggles and the head covered on the angel tended to increase the fear factor with humans. As Tobias spoke the final words 'all hail Michael' before the executioners' blade fell upon the human's neck, the scene was disturbed by the sound of explosions.

After the explosions, all hell tended to break out. Tobias tried to ascertain where the attack and attackers were coming from. It seemed there were so many attackers that it was clear the camp was falling. He watched as angels fell one by one. Taking in the scene in front of him, Tobias weighed up his options. Does he stay and fight and most likely die of which Michael would never know what had happened here or should he retreat, inform Michael and return with reinforcements. It took less than a second to make the decision. Tobias, ever the big hero, chose to run and run he did. He cowered in the doorway of a nearby cabin and with a flap of his wings he vanished.

In no time, Tobias found himself in front of his Commander. Normally he preened himself ahead of any such meeting, but not today. Today he was worried. He had lost one of the main leaders in the resistance. A resistance that was increasingly giving Heaven many headaches. This was news that he did not want to give Michael. Deciding it was better to get it over with, Tobias bowed his head in front of his leader. "Forgive me, Commander, Sir. I come quickly to give you news of a resistance counter attack on our Northern Camp. Unfortunately, there were so many of them, our soldiers fell and in the commotion, we lost the resistance leader Charlie Bradbury. I'm sorr…"

Tobias never got to finish his statement. At the mere mention of the human female's name, Michael reached forward and grabbed Tobias. "What!? You had Charlie Bradbury and you lost her?" Michael released Tobias's shirt. He seemed to quieten down and began to pace the floor in front of the Lieutenant. After a while, Michael turned. "This 'army' that attacked the camp, how many did you say there were?... Oh details, details. I don't need this, time is of the essence. Go now and take a number of your best soldiers and bring me Charlie Bradbury. And Tobias I want her ALIVE."

Tobias took the order as his dismissal. He quickly left the room and called a number of angels he knew were more than battle worn. This time he would find this person and bring her to Michael. He would not fail again. He could not fail again.

The last 23 or so hours had been more than just eventful. Whilst there had been action, there also had been a lot of time for Ketch to contemplate a great number of things. As he marched alongside Dean and this 'Charlie', Ketch pondered on what he had both witnessed and learned.

Firstly, over the last day, he had come to a new understanding of Dean Winchester. When initially he researched the Winchesters, Ketch, like many before him, had wrongly made assumptions about the brothers and in particular Dean. On first meeting Dean, he had saw the elder Winchester as stupid and none important. He was an ok hunter but not something the 'old boys' should get too excited about recruiting. He certainly didn't believe the hype and all the rumours. Dean was just irritating but he was not a major immoveable barrier. But like all 'villians' before him, Ketch had underestimated Dean. Dean wasn't just a cold blooded killer he was something else. His determination and his love for family was without question. He had something worth dying for as well as something worth living for. As Ketch thought on this – this was something he – Arthur Ketch – had no such thing to fight for.

Secondly, as Ketch had a revelation about Dean Winchester, he also had a similar revelation about his own life. Dean lived and would die for those he loved. His family – Mary, Sam and now this Charlie. Who had he? As he thought about his current situation. Back on his earth, he had nothing to fight for. He no longer worked for the BMOL, and there was no chance of that relationship ever being restored, and if he was honest he isn't so sure he would want to rejoin the BMOL again. He no longer believed in the mission anymore. It was here, in this apocalyptic world that he seemed to find a purpose. Something to fight for, something to die for. He had found his mission.

He smiled to himself as he continued to walk alongside Charlie and Dean. As Ketch give further thought to his life, Charlie broke the silence. "So to recap, there's another world. A better world with no Michael and it has another me?" Dean replies. "It had." Charlie continued, "and you're friends with her, me, her…?" Dean thought it was better to interrupt as she tried to get her head around this information. "Yes, very." Ketch noticed that Dean looked around his surroundings now. He was concerned that as they got closer to the rift, there was every chance other angels were intervene. Charlie thought she would distract a little and was most likely keen to understand the relationship her other self had with this Dean Winchester. "how very?" She was relieved when Dean clarified that 'she was into chicks'.

Ketch hadn't really been following the conversation as the two babbled about things but he became more interested when Dean asked, "Look, I know this is a lotta information I'm telling you but OK we're running out of time. I need to know where the nephilim is and my mums with him? Right?" Ketch recognised the surprise on Charlie's face. "your mum?" Dean nodded and replied, "yes, she's from our world too."

"Ahh. The last I heard they were fighting somewhere that was the remains of Dayton, Ohio, but I don't know. Wait your mum?" As Dean replied yes, Charlie pushed on, " why would I believe any of this?" Ketch stopped and looked ahead. He knew where they were. Dean summed it up with his reply. "Because of that," as he pointed towards the rift. It was at that stage that Ketch noticed that it was starting to spark out. It was clear that it was beginning to close. There was little to no time left. Charlie looked on in awe at it. As it continued to flickered, Dean looked at his watch. "OK, this things gonna close any minute. We gotta go."

That was the moment Ketch new what all this had been leading up to. "Dean, you needa go through and bring back Sam, your angel, Gabriel and the bloody navy seals, whatever help you can get. But, I shall stay." As predicted, it was met by a short 'what' from Dean. Ketch explained further, "we're going up against Michael. We need to be ready. What he's up to. Where your mother and Jack are?" As he finished his sentence, Charlie added that she too was not leaving and Ketch glimpsed a little of that inner strength that Dean had alluded to when referring about the other Charlie. It was clear that she was not going to be swayed into leaving innocent people behind either.

It was nearly time. "Dean. It's closing!" And just as he uttered those words, it became clear that the decision was made with the arrival of a number of angels, all of which were clearly hunting for them. Ketch shouted to Dean to 'go' and he watched as the elder Winchester turned and started to run towards the rift opening. Ketch looked at Charlie and both smiled and nodded and began to open fire. They had a renewed mission. They knew hope was on it's way and as they made their escape, Ketch thought on, that Dean would keep his word and he would come back and with his arrival, he would bring them all back alive.

Unfortunately, Tobias could only look on as he witnessed one of the human rebels run through some sort of rip in the world. As he disappeared the rip seemed to flash in and out of existence and then was gone.

Maybe it was the distraction of the rip in their world disappearing, Tobias wasn't sure how well trained angels of Heaven could so easily lose two puny little humans. It shouldn't have been possible, but it was the truth and no one was more aware of this truth than Tobias as he stood waiting to updating his Commander that he had failed, again.

Tobias hadn't to wait long to speak with Michael and on giving him the bad news, he waited for the inevitable 'firing' that other angels had witnessed. Maybe today was his turn. Trying not to shake, Tobias explained what happened and was taken by surprise that Michael was interested in the rift and how the human that passed through it had gone. His commander seemed to be less interested in the others. So it was with some surprise, when Michael did NOT obliterate or disintegrate him. Instead, the archangel turned and give new orders. His job was to seek out both this Charlie and the other off worlder and to use any means to get them, even human spies.

Tobias nodded and as he was leaving, Michael raised his hand to indicate that there was one more thing. "Tobias, be aware, that you are alive because I wish you to be alive, but DON'T FAIL me AGAIN. And bring me them back alive."

Tobias bowed his head in acknowledgement and left as fast as he could.


	12. It's no sacrifice,just the finished word

**Chapter 12: It's no sacrifice, just the finished word**

 _ **Set about 2 months ago….**_

'CRASH…. BANG!' Slaves and angels alike, ran for cover as Michael threw what was left of the furniture across the room. It wasn't the first time today that he had lost his temper and many felt that it would most likely not be the last time either.

Michael took some time out and tried to remember the last time he felt his 'sword'. It have been weeks now and still there had been not one vision, word or sign from his father of the next steps. The high from having his vessel so close had long since disappeared. It had only lasted 3 days before Michael's patience began to run out. It was three days were he had been at peace and had felt complete and all because one Dean Winchester had walked in his world, but sadly that buzz had worn off very quickly and that time had come and gone. All he had now was the same emptiness he had been living with for years now. He wanted it gone. He wanted his true vessel and he wanted it as soon as possible, because the true vessel was an important step to finishing his true mission.

Unfortunately for the two angels standing (or rather shaking) in his presence, today was not going to be the day that his emptiness would end. Michael turned back round to look at the angels directly. He was tired of hearing bad news from his underlings. For the past few months, his forces seemed to be losing on all fronts. From losing valuable prisoners to the latest incursion being halted by the damn nephilim. He was getting tired of hearing about what the nephilim Jack did and did not do. For once, he wanted to hear that his orders had been successfully carried out and that progress had been made. Instead, he was standing listening to a lowly Lieutenant give him the more bad news because the seraph's commanding officer, Balthazar, had died leading the attack to take out said nephilim.

"Forgive us Lord Michael. The intel we had was good, but we didn't know that the nephilim would be there never name he'd be so powerful that he could take out an angel as powerful as Commander Balthazar. He disintegrated everything that got in his way. He's too powerful we had to make a tactical retreat." The first angel stopped speaking as she realised it was best to not rave about the powerful adversary. Michael had noticed this angel before. She was smart but when he looked at the second angel, sadly, this one was not so smart. And true to form the second angel continued, "Sir, the way this nephilim used his power, I've never seen something as powerful as that before. I would…." Seeing the look he was now receiving from the archangel, the second angel's voice trailed off.

"You know what I'm sick and tired of hearing about?" Michael stopped talking and looked directly at the second angel. "emmm, I don't kn…", but before he could finish, Michael decided to speed things up. "I wasn't looking for a reply idiot. I'm really tired of hearing how great my brother's progeny is. I am also tired of hearing excuses from what I thought was a well trained army, but it seems that since my victory over the dominion of hell, every angel has gotten sloppy. Perhaps I need to rethink the training regime. Or perhaps I need to reconsider the soldiers I rely on to deliver my victories? In fact, some rigorous retraining is required. I will have to talk to Naomi…. " Michael paused to let that news sink in. When he witnessed that his words had the desired effect, he continued. "But. That will have to wait, because after three major losses in the past few weeks it is time for me to rethink my strategy on this young opponent. Leave me and remember what I said. And underlings do me another thing…. Tell your brothers and sisters as well. Maybe some retraining is needed as I'm quickly losing my faith in your abilities."

As the two angels retreated, Michael turned to look out the window. It was true, he needed to rethink how he handled the nephilim. 'The child is obviously more powerful than his father. As the eldest son, I have always been stronger than Lucifer, but this creature is clearly stronger just like the previous offspring of angels and humans had proved to be stronger than the angelic parent in the past. He may even be more powerful than me?! But he has only walked this earth for less than a year. I have millions of years' experience. I've lead armies against the greatest of foes. A child in a powerful body has many weaknesses and if I press the right buttons, I will win. Yes, break his spirit first and I will then break him completely.'

Jack's face played in Michaels mind for hours upon hours. He pondered on what to do to beat the nephilim. It was obvious, that given the sheer power the child had, the usual type of tactics was not going to work. It hadn't worked to date. So, he started to rummage through his own memories of when Jack was under Zachariah's control during interrogation to see if he could gather ideas. His adversary wasn't very old and the lack of experience give Michael a number of ways to break him, and break him was the plan. The nephilim was literally a child, who was experiencing life and the emotions that came along with life for mostly the first time, and with this thought, it would be so much easier to destroy his spirit and break his will. This concept then expanded in Michael's mind as he considered the numerous possibilities he had when it came to Jack. He smiled and smirked and then called a number of trusted angels because there was work to do.

Three days later….

The last three days had been busy for Kevin and thanks to his Lord and Master, he had been ordered to 'fix the problem and fix it quick! Yeah as if I hadn't been working on fixing this problem for the past few months but don't worry, these next few days are when the magic's really going to happen.'

Kevin let out a huge sigh and rubbed his eyes for what he felt was the millionth time in the past 6 hours. Unfortunately for the prophet, this was not the first all nighter he had pulled and sleep deprivation was now taking its' toll on his concentration. At one stage yesterday, he thought he had seen a bunch of tiny tinkerbell fairies dance naked across the alter in front of him, but sadly reality came crashing in when he went to embrace one of the little beauties and managed to lose his balance and land face first on the ground. It was only after that incident that he took 3 hours rest and finally got some much needed sleep.

Kevin was used to working under pressure and in this case under threat of a slow and painful death, but Michael was asking the impossible. This was just too difficult and despite the incentive of opening a doorway to 'paradise world, never name getting to know all those 'hot chicks', he couldn't ignore his conscience which was screaming at him to really think this through.

'Be smart dude. You know that despite his words of assurance, Michael is known to not keeping his end of the bargain. You might open the doorway and even manage to keep the doorway open, but if Michael goes to this other world, will it remain a paradise for much longer? You're kidding yourself on many fronts. Stop thinking with your 'little brain' and use your 'big brain' Kevin. You know Michael has been acting even stranger and more obsessive than normal. He's has been and always will be a zealot. What makes you think he will honour your agreement when he gets to this other world? Do you think he will just simply leave it be? He's opened up to you at times over the past two months about how he is going to make 'improvements'. What the hell does that mean? I doubt very much the hot chicks in paradise world will like his idea of improvement.'

Unfortunately as Kevin's mind moved to what improvements he would consider making to certain hot chicks he had met recently, he was dragged from his happy place by the abrupt opening of the nearest door. Looking towards the entrance, he saw his newest shadow, the angel Uriel enter. He could almost predict the next words to come from the seraph's mouth. "Prophet, any progress to report?" 'A man of few words and probably fewer brains cells but most definitely little patience.' In a effort to find a different way to share the same news as he had done over the past three days, Kevin produced a small smile and said, "Slow but sure Sir. As you can imagine, this is a very complex spell. If it was simple, anyone could simply do it, even you." Uriel growled, "you realise failure is not an option prophet. The Commander in Chief grows impatient and we both know what happens to those that fail him. This is too important, so dispense with the falsehoods and give me a real progress report NOW!"

'Crap!' Kevin was sure that people living half way round the world could hear him gulp but after the not so veiled threat, he steadied himself to expand on his previous statement. "I'm sorry sir, I don't think you realise how difficult this is. Not only am I trying to translate a language that your father created, but it's also a code within a code. This is soooo different from other spells and incantations that Lord Michael has asked me to translate. This is huge magic and most likely God Almighty did not wish anyone (not even archangels) to mess around with alternative universes given destiny and all that stuff. That said, it's probably doable, but it. Will. Take. Time!"

"Hmmmph! Very well human. But word to the wise, Michael has disintegrated four angels this morning, just for delivering bad news to him. He is fast running out of faith in your abilities and as you haven't produced any further revelations about the true mission, he is considering that the next prophet to be activated may do a better job. The choice is yours, but I wouldn't take much longer, if I were you!" With the point clearly made, Uriel seemed to retreat out of the room to leave Kevin with his thoughts.

Kevin had to give it to Uriel, he had an excellent way of getting his point across. He had been left with no ambiguity about what was in store if he failed. It seemed to Kevin, that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. With that thought, he realised that he was most likely never going to see paradise world, never name get to know any chicks, hot or not. All he could do was negotiate for as good as deal as possible and if he was honest with himself, all he really wanted, or in fact most likely needed, was to find his mum. His mother was safety and peace everything his world had NOT been for the last few years. A single tear ran down his cheek and with the last thought, he returned to work on the tablet in front of him, renewed to finish this once and for all. As it was clear that his role in this story was most likely going to come to an end and soon.

2 more days later….

It had been nearly a week since he had worked out how he was going to break the nephilim. In fact, Michael couldn't believe how simple it was going to be. The child valued family and seemed to have taken it upon himself to be the lord and protector of all the humans under his care. And as one so young, it was clear to Michael, that Jack had his mother's soft human morals and not his fathers ruthless principles when it came to warfare. All this meant he was most likely going to take it very hard and personal if he couldn't save those he held most dear to him. It was perfect really and in many ways wasn't resource intensive.

What better way to crush the nephilim's spirit as well as take out the leadership of the resistance and all in one go. The only potential 'spanner in the works' was what would he use to deliver the killer blow? Further thought would be needed, but he had the 'script' he now needed a 'cast and stage' to deliver the 'performance.' As the archangels' thoughts turned away from the nephilim and resistance, he began to focus on the bigger plan, the real priority – namely getting to the other world, taking control of his sword and then what would he do? Smiling at this thought, he dared to think on the 'what next?' but before he could give it much more thought, Uriel burst in through the door.

Michael's initial reaction was to smite first and ask questions later, but he realised that Uriel would only disturb him if it was something important to do with the prophet and given Kevin Tran had at least two important functions to fulfil. As he turned, he realised that the interruption could only be some sort of good news or else Uriel would not live to interrupt another day. "Apologies for disturbing you at this important time of reflection, but it's the prophet. He's found a way Commander." With these words from Uriel, Michael pushed him out of the way and practically ran towards the prophet and hopefully some sort of salvation.

Fortunately for Kevin, the news was in fact as good as Michael had hoped. After much focus and hard work, the prophet had really sorted out the 'small problem' of holding the doorway open to enable Michael's forces to pass through. In hindsight, the solution had seemed 'to good to be true!' But as he listened and processed the information provided by the prophet, he realised this could really work. 'But, I need a power source other than my own grace, and a source that was willing to allow itself to be drained to keep the door open. The problem is that the grace can only come from an archangel but I need to be strong or else I won't be able to secure the sword on the other side and lead from the front. Unless…. I use Raphael, but it will mean one less effective asset when I need a strong second in command. Surely this cannot be my father's true plan?'

With this thought, Michael turned to issue an order but was stopped by the high pierced shriek coming from the prophet's direction. Michael recognised only too well the cause of the noise. It could only be one thing, his father was finally communicating his intentions. Turning towards the prophet he closed his eyes. 'Finally, is this truly the time? Please let this be the last message I need to hear before I step out onto the path father that you have chosen for me. My destiny awaits as I make the journey and the sacrifices that need to be made in order to make my way back to him.'

Once again Michael's attention returned to the prophet who was now lying flat on his back on the floor, spaced out and his eyes and mind locked in a trance. As he looked down on Kevin Tran, he uttered the following words, "Father, finally the day and hour is upon us. I am truly ready to receive your revelation. May you message set me on my true path. A path away from this world of emptiness and desolation to a world ready to be shaped for your return. A perfect world. A better world!" With these last few words, Michael knelt down by the side of his prophet and for most likely the last time he placed his hands on either side of the human's head and reached into his mind. Letting out a gasp, he then smiled as the path became clear.

It felt like only minutes when he entered the prophets mind and received the full vision. But Michael knew better. It had to easily be hours as he noticed daylight had now turned to darkness. Slightly shaken not by the use of his power but from the news he had received, he slowly stood up. Kevin had stopped moving and was now unconscious on the floor, but Michael's mind was reeling from what he had witnessed. 'I don't understand father. Is this truly what you wish of me? It can't be, it doesn't make sense to go out into this new world without an army of heaven at my command."

Michael took some time to mull over what he had saw. What his father was asking of him did not sit well with him. As a strategist it went against every belief he had as a general had. 'Who would give up all their advantages and simply trust something this important to fate? Surely he should be better prepared? Can he really trust his destiny and everything he wants (not desires, because he doesn't hold such petty emotions) to the visions of a human?' His struggle went deep and directly to his inner core. Was this really the journey his father wanted him to take? It was a leap of faith. A major leap of faith.

Then it hit him. "Faith. Of course father. Like always this is a test of faith, isn't it? To achieve it all – a better world, my true vessel and your return – I have to risk it all, haven't I? If this is your will….. hmmm… then as it is spoken, so shall it be done father. I will make the sacrifice." As Michael made his decision he reconciled himself to what he now had to do. The plans he had been drafting over and over within his head for the past few days would still stand, but a few major amends would now have to be made.

Rising up, Michael called his second in command Raphael to his chamber and issued his orders. Raphael was greeted by the truest smile he had seen on his brothers face. Perhaps the first true smile he had seen in years. Heartened by the change in Michael he returned the smile and requested his orders. Over the next hour, Raphael was informed of their father's wishes and despite having similar concerns about the plan, Raphael bowed his head and accepted his orders. "You know I have concerns, but like you I believe in our father's plan. It is just and righteous and I will play my part, though heavy is my heart brother that we will not be parting from this universe together, but I have no place in questioning father's will. It is his word and we shall finish it." With these words, Raphael reached out and grabbed his brother and both exchanged what most humans would describe as a hug, but Michael would see this as one soldier informally saluting and saying goodbye to another comrade before they prepared for the last battle.

Over the next few days, Michael put the finishing touches to his plans and watched from his chambers as his fortress emptied. His thoughts turned briefly to the plan for the nephilim. He didn't like giving up important assets, but his father was asking for sacrifices and he would deliver. This was the first big sacrifice, but it would not be the last. Despite his thoughts, he grinned. He was at peace. The stage was being set and now he had to wait. He was good at waiting. 'Here's to waiting!'

Meanwhile back at the camp.

The shift in their fortunes had been huge, but as Mary followed Jack through the forest on the way back to their camp, she couldn't help thinking that 'things were going too well, Winchester bad luck was sure to hit them and hit them soon.' She chose to not linger on these thoughts, but couldn't help it. When it came to archangels and specifically to Michael, she feared for everyone and she especially feared for Jack. Michael would not take well that there existed a force equal to, if not greater than his own. She didn't remember much from her conversations with her sons about Michael. Most of their conversations about the last apocalypse in their world mainly centred around Lucifer and Sam. She struggled to remember much of Michael, but before she could really 'scratch that wall' Jack began to speak.

"Balthazar's army attacked but we were ready. Then I killed him." As Jack finished speaking Mary asked about Bobby. "Well, he'll be back in a few days with the people we saved." Mary felt bad at the thoughts she was having, but she needed to know. "How many?" Jack replied, "30 at least." Mary's expression seemed to change and her emotions were clearer to Jack as she looked around her and towards the camp. "You're not happy? This is the third battle in a row we've won!" Mary had to be honest with him, though she didn't like saying it. "I I…. We're running out of space…. And supplies and now with all those new people. I I.. just don't know how we're going to take care of everybody."

Their conversation was interrupted by a noise coming from behind Jack. As both turned their friend and comrade, Jacob stumbled through the trees towards them. "What is it Jacob?" Mary asked as she lowered and put away her gun. Jacob replied, "sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just got word from our eyes just outside Michaels fortress." Mary took in his words and asked 'and?'. Jacob explained. "They're saying, the angels, they're leaving!?" With this information everyone looked confused, but Jack seemed to translate their thoughts into words, "why would they leave?"

For each of the leaders within the camp, everyone pondered the answer to that question. Mary recalled her gut feeling from earlier. She sighed, it seemed her gut was right, it had been going too well. The hunter in her was really uneasy as she didn't like when the 'prey' operated outside their normally MO and when there was really a big unanswered question.

Hours passed and it was as everyone was sitting around the camp fire, that Jack decided to use his gifts and find out if the intel was accurate. Within seconds, Mary watched as once again, the young man impressed her with another of his many gifts. As suddenly as he had entered his trance he immediately came out of it again. Mary watched as he opened his eyes and said, "it's all empty!" Mary asked if he was sure? "There are a few angels guarding the parameter, but inside they're gone." Mary raised an eyebrow and repeated out loud, "what is going on?"

Thinking on her question and still trying to make sense of this confirmation, Jack stated, "maybe… maybe he's scared?" But before Jack could continue, Jacob interrupted. "I've been fighting Michael the better part of 8 years and there's nothing he is scared of." With a little too much confidence for Mary's liking, Jack interjected, "he's scared of me. We're winning!" Mary looked on. As much as she wanted to believe him, she needed to keep him grounded. "Jack…" but before she could finish her sentence, Jack rose to his feet and said, "I think we should go and see if Michael left anything behind. Something that can tell us where he's gone. What he's planning?"

Mary couldn't let this continue. She didn't like were Jack's thinking was going. She feared his inexperience and passion would cloud the importance of being cautious. "It could be a trap!" But Jack was not seeing what she was really saying. "It's alright. I'll keep you safe." Mary looked around the campfire and everyone was thinking similar thoughts. They all wanted to believe Jack but they were not as optimistic as he was when it came to the subject of the Archangel Michael. Staring at the fire, her thoughts screamed that there was something else going on, something bigger, something none of them could imagine, but it was just out of reach from her fingers. They had to be careful. Michael was ancient and a master of strategy.

Sadly, Mary's concerns were overruled and in just over a day, Jack, Mary, Jacob and a few other key leaders were successfully storming through the main doors of the fortress. And just as the intel had shown there were only a handful of guards that were easily disposed without Jack having to really use his powers. Mary watched as Jack lead the way, kicking the main doors wide open and making a grand and sweeping entrance into the fortress. The silence that greeted everyone did very little to ease Mary's apprehensions as everyone fanned out and checked each and every room.

As each area was cleared, the resistance leaders took in the empty fortress. In slight shock, everyone realised the sheer gravity of standing in what everyone had always seen as the heart of their enemy's kingdom for a year if not much longer. Mary give herself a little shake, in order to bring herself out of the any thoughts she had been holding. "Jacob, take the others and check the warding." As a number of the group left to follow Mary's orders, she shrugged off her thoughts and said, "I really hate this place."

Jack scanned the main room and shouted, "look!" Both of them took in what looked like a map with small figurines lying out on the table. As they moved closer, it was clear the map was of the United States of America and it clearly showed that all of Michael's forces were concentrated mainly to the south and east of the country. Jack was the first to point this out. "Why are they all over there?" As he raised his hand and looked directly at Mary in the hope that her years of experience would have a simple answer one that had simply alluded all his powerful gifts. Sadly, Mary didn't have an answer, "I don't know." Mary didn't have to expand as Jacob and the team returned and this time they came with 'a gift.'

"Look what we found in the dungeon?" With asking the question, Jacob had dragged in a young man between them. "A prophet, Kevin Tran!" Mary took in this new information. Kevin was a prophet, not any insignificant human slave. He was a prophet of the Lord, so why would Michael leave him behind. None of this made sense. Her thoughts were interrupted by Kevin standing upright and Jacob calling Kevin out as a traitor. "I'ma I'ma prophet of the Lord, I was serving God!"

Jacob continued, "you serve Michael. The prophet here turned his back on his own kind." It was obvious to Mary that Kevin was afraid, but there was something that her hunter's gut was screaming was missing. Kevin shouted in his defence, "I didn't have a choice here. You, you don't understand, I I never used to believe in anything well except science, quantum mechanics, unpredictability and then the end of the world happened and everyone around me, my friends and my mum – they all started to die. But God chose me. What does that even mean?" It was at this stage that the prophets voice had gotten higher. It was clear he was scared and fighting for his life, but he continued, "Michael said he wanted to save the world, not kill it!" And as Kevin's voice began to break, he said, "but he's hurt so many people. When I couldn't perfect the spell, Michael, he got mad, and threw me in the dungeon and I was so scared, but I fixed it!. But I couldn't do it anymore."

Mary broke through his speech as there were a number of important points she had picked up on. "Kevin, what spell? What's Michael planning?" Kevin had noticed she had moved closer when she asked her question, so he seemed to stare directly at her and in a deadpanned voice he said, "There's a place in the south were the walls between worlds are thin. Michael's going to use a spell from the angel tablet to open up a rift and then he's gonna…." It was at this stage that Jack caught up, "…. He'll invade our world!" This idea filled Mary with dread, her first thought went straight to her boys, who were safe and far away from all of this. This could not happen, but as reality began to sink in, everyone suddenly realised how big this really was. 'It all made sense now. There was a reason Michael seemed not to be caring too much about the resistance. It was clear, he had his sights set on a bigger prize! Why stay and rule over this shit hole of a world, when paradise world was Michaels' for the taking.'

It was a little later as the group stood around the table looking down at the map hoping in some way that by simply staring at the piece of paper, they may somehow find inspiration and possibly a solution that will make the news less worrying. One of the resistance broke the silence by restating how right Jacob had been. He mentioned, "leaving his plans like this is too slopping." This was met by another of the group stating, "or, he doesn't care!" This was followed by another of the group stating, "Doesn't care. He knows we can't stop him probably making his move as we speak." Jack had listened for as long as he could. Hearing all their comments, he seemed to make a decision, "I could go, right now. I could surprise him and kill him!"

Mary closed her eyes. It was as she feared, Jack was so powerful, but had little experience. So she felt it was her duty as a friend and mother type to provide advice. "Jack no!" Jack disagreed. "No we can't let him cross over. We know where he is." Mary sighed. "Do we? Michael could have left this map as bait. Bobby's only a day out, we should wait!" Sadly Jack was not convinced. Fortunately, Kevin had been listening and decided to add his view to the debate. "Mary's right. Michael, he never does anything without a reason."

"I say we let the dark angel go. Let Michael be some other worlds problem for a change." As one of the men in the group provided and open and honest opinion, Mary felt she had to be the voice of reason. "How can you even say that! That's 7 billion innocent people. Ah Jack listen to me. This is Michael we're talking about. He's killed everyone that's ever stood against him. We have to think this through. I'm asking for a day. Please!" Mary stared directly at Jack and pleaded that her point of view be taken on board. Jack heard both sides of the argument and decided perhaps more thought was needed. Mary sighed with relief and sent an inner prayer to whoever was listening that her 'adopted son' would listen to her reason.

A few more hours passed and Mary watched as Jack stood alone still looking at the map and trying to work out what was really going on. Why was Michael doing this? What was his next move? What was their next move? Meanwhile, as the lightening flashed and the thunder clashed outside, Mary could do nothing but imagine that it was one more reminder of how different this world was from her own. She allowed her imagination to wander as she believed the unusual weather could be easily attributed to somewhere in this world there was a very angry Archangel Michael losing his patience and that's why there were so many storms. But no matter how much she tried to move her mind away from their current problem, she couldn't. Her imagination couldn't provide her with the answers Jack so greatly needed. She kept asking herself, what would Sam and Dean do?

Mary knew time was about to run out as she took in Jack's body language. Her fears were well founded when he announced to the group, "I know I said I'd wait, but…" Mary finished his sentence, "… you're going after Michael." The nephilim simply answered, "I have to." Mary knew arguing he shouldn't wouldn't help but she tried anyway. Jack seemed to interpret her fears as something else. "You don't think I can win!?" Mary decided honesty was too important. "I think we don't know how strong Michael is." His reply was quick and defensive. "He doesn't know how strong I am!"

"Hmm, I know you've been winning all these fights and you want to take him on sooo bad. I was just like you with hunting, but I learned the hard way that thinking you can win all the time – running blind into every fight, that's how you make mistakes. And the people here, they're…" Jack interrupted her tirade, "I'm doing it for them, why?" It was becoming heated when Mary raised her voice and said, "you can't help them if you're dead! And I can't lose another boy." Jack seemed to take this on board and reached out to touch her shoulder. "You won't, I'll come back for all of you, I promise."

Kevin seemed to not like the way the conversation was going and when he overheard what the nephilim's decision was, he made his move. "NO. You can't go!" Mary watched in growing horror as Kevin moved both of his hands towards his shirt opening and began to rip it. It was then that Mary glimpsed what looked like some sort of sigil that was carved into the flesh of Kevin's chest. Kevin's actions hadn't went unnoticed by anyone in the room as they all became a little more uneasy and began to draw their weapons. It was then that Kevin began to speak again. "Michael… he told me to wait for Bobby. For all of you to be together, but I can't. He wanted you to see."

"Whatever Michael said he was lying. Mary was now filling with new dread. Whatever had been niggling at her gut for a long time was coming to pass somehow. Kevin continued, "No! Michael says that when I get to heaven. When he lets me into heaven. I get to see my mum again." At this stage Mary could see real tears in his eyes. Moving to try and persuade him of not doing anything that he had planned to do, she said, "I've been to Heaven. And what's there. It's just memories, nothing's real." But the prophet was now completely worked up and he shouted, "I don't care! You don't understand. I (his head was now shaking quickly from side to side) I… you don't know the things I've done." But then he seemed to find focus and acceptance and the next words struck like an ice dagger to her heart. He whispered, "I just want this to be over."

Jack seemed to realise he was some sort of weapon. "Your spell won't kill me." But as Mary knew, to kill Jack was never the goal and in answering for her, Kevin simply replied, "Michael doesn't want to kill you. Michael wants to break you. He said for me to tell you – even if you win, you still lose. I'm sorry." As Kevin seemed to move his hand towards his chest, Mary shouted 'Don't!', but she was too late. As the prophet's hand hit his chest, a white light seemed to build up from the centre of his chest and everyone in the room could sense the power growing getting ready to explode. Jack moved immediately to protect Mary and as he grabbed her and knelt down to shield her, using his wings, he managed to save her and only her, as the rest of the inhabitants in the room were not so lucky.

Jack was alone with his thoughts and that was not good. 'How had he been so stupid. No he had been both naïve and arrogant. He should have been able to stop this. Kevin was obviously a threat, but once again, he failed to see the bad coming and save those he had sworn to protect.' The energy blast had been immense. He had just barely managed to save Mary Winchester, but as he looked around the room, he saw the true cost of his impatience and inexperience. Michael was truly evil. He had sacrificed a young man, using his love for his mother and his ongoing loneliness to manipulate and bully him into murdering everyone in the room.

Jack surveyed the destruction. The storm still raged outside – he could see through the cross shape that had been carved into the wall. Mary would live. He had been lucky but he had learned a hard lesson, one he would not repeat again. When it came to Michael, there wasn't nothing he wouldn't do or no one he wouldn't sacrifice to stop him. That thought alone scared him slightly – was he breaking or was Michael changing him into a different type of animal – maybe closer to what Michael was.

Jack tended to Mary and after a little time, Mary woke up. Jack continued to fill Mary in on what had happened. It was clear from her eyes, Jack could see pity and understanding. She too, recognised the harsh lesson that Michael had just taught them all.

Jack was standing contemplating everything he had learned. As Mary approached him, he said, "It's my fault. I said I would protect them." Mary answered, "we can prepare. We can fight. And sometimes.. things happen we never see coming." Jack added. "If I can't keep them safe, well want's the point?" Mary just looked at him and moved to comfort him because he felt she understood only too well. Jack nodded. He had learned the lesson.

Over 200 miles away, Michael felt the passing of the prophet Kevin Tran. He closed his eyes and bowed his head in silent prayer to his father. 'Father, please accept my sacrifice as proof of my commitment to undertake the task you have given me. I shalt not fail thee father. So it was foreseen and written, so it shall be done.'

With this thought, he smiled towards Raphael and he proceeded to go about his daily duties as if nothing had changed. He would wait for the signs and then he would start his own journey and this time it would be him that would have to sacrifice something closer to home!


	13. Ch 13 And the Levee begins to break

**Chapter 13: And the levee begins to break….**

 _ **Less than five days ago….**_

Gabriel's POV:

'It just figures! Just like my life at the minute. I'm tumbled and threw around and when I touch down, I don't land with the finesse and grace of one of God's greatest archangels. Oh no, I happen to roll and unceremoniously face plant in my brother's crotch. Fuckin' typical of my luck!' Gabriel couldn't believe his run of misfortune at the moment. It was like bad karma had followed him around ever since he abandoned the Winchester boys to fight against his older brothers on their own during the first apocalypse. 'Thanks dad. I got the message. Cruelly delivered as always but I got it. I know I should have stayed and helped. If I had, I wouldn't be staring at the genitalia of one of my brother's vessels in the middle of an alternative apocalypse world in yet another suicidal mission, that will most likely end with my death. AGAIN!'

To say Gabriel was less than enthusiastic about the mission was an understatement, but when it came to the Winchesters, he had a soft spot and if he was truly honest with himself, the past few years had provided him with much time to reflect on his own misgivings. In particular, Gabriel had realised that he couldn't run from his responsibilities and from his family. He needed to stand his ground and be accounted for when it came to right and wrong. Of course, this was all fine and well, but he couldn't forget that back home, the only thing holding the doorway open was his less than accommodating evil brother Lucifer, who most likely will break his chains and come after them, because let's face it, he's spiteful and will beat the truth out of poor Rowena.

Secondly, and most likely the bigger issue, the unknown entity that is this crazy messed up universes version of his oldest brother – Michael. 'Ahh, Michael, Michael, Michael. Big bro, how will you take this merry band of visitors to your kingdom?' As he thought this question, he feared the answer and in an attempt to stall on finding an answer to that question, he thought better to face reality and lift his head as quickly as possible and without drawing too much attention to his position. 'Too late, I know what you're thinking Dean, just don't you dare say it.'

As everyone gathered themselves and tried to get their bearings, it was clear they all looked a little uncomfortable at how Gabriel had managed to land on Castiel when he arrived. Dean seemed to be looking at it and fighting every natural instinct to say something witty, but given the mission and the gravity of the situation he thought it better to move on. Gabriel was relieved. He was more than happy with Castiel as well as both looked at one another and silently agreed via facial expressions and eye contact, to never mention this again. "Ehh, well that was fun…" Gabriel paused to wipe the dirt off his hands and clothes. ".. I could have used a heads up about this landing site." Dean set aside his thoughts on the recent landing, "yeahh. I thought we'd get spin out in the same spot, but this isn't it. Alright… well Charlie.. the other Charlie said Mary and Jack have an outpost in Dayton." Ever business like, Sam followed the information up with purpose, "Let's get our bearings and head that way. Cas, where are we?"

Gabriel looked from one brother to the next and then settled his eyes on his heavenly brother, Castiel. Cas closed his eyes in concentration. Gabe couldn't help himself, as his thoughts turned a little childish, 'he looks as if he's contemplating a massive evacuation of his bowels, please chance the expression, bro!' Gabriel refocused as Cas determined the direction of travel. "Ahh, Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky or what used to be Kentucky." Gabe continue to be impressed as Dean put the many years of tracking to great use as he looked up towards the sky and to the sun to ascertain which way was north and then pointed his finger left, "well that means North, which means Dayton's that way, roughly 2 days by foot that way. So let's go." Gabriel turned as Dean's arms herded him in the direction they needed to travel. 'And now for the boring bit, the walking! If only I could just snap my fingers and we'd all be there. Save a huge amount of time. I miss my powers.'

Head down, Gabriel marched off behind the two brothers, sombrely contemplating his life once more and at some stage it had started to rain. 'Peachy, just peachy!' It must have been an hour or so into the walk, that Castiel decided to walk beside him and make further conversation. "Have you thought about what's next after we get back to earth?" This was an interesting question, and similar to his previous thoughts of Michael, this was yet again another question he had deliberately sought to avoid. "Yeahhh, not so much. Being as we've still got to find Jack and Mary. Not to mention, survive Michael and his super angel army!"

Castiel seemed to take all this in. Gabriel looked from left to right as he thought briefly about his brother. At any minute now, he's brother could sense him, never name his true vessel and turn up here and just take what he wanted and destroy the rest. Thankfully for Cas, Gabriel wasn't allowed to dwell too long on 'that' thought. "Right!". Gabriel continued. "Although, I did tick off some bucket list items recently. Got some revenge. Had sex with a 300 year old red head. What's next for me? I don't really know."

Gabriel dreaded what was coming, he just knew from the other angels' body language that he wasn't going to like what was on his mind. "This world is emm… obviously clutted with angels but back home in our world, it's just Naomi and a handful of others." Of all the news Gabriel thought Castiel would share, this was a surprise to him. 'Surely things had not fallen that far down the crapper?' Cas continued, "they're trying to keep the lights on but Heaven's dying Gabriel."

After what could be considered a 'pregnant pause', Gabriel said, "you're serious?" When Castiel confirmed, the archangel continued, "you think I can fix it? Ehhish! I skipped out on Heaven, Castiel. They wouldn't want me back. As far as they're concerned, I'm a screw up. Hell! As far as I'm concerned, I'm a screw up!" Castiel turned directly to him, "well, Heaven's been run into the ground by upstanding angels, perhaps a screw up is just the change we need?" After that statement, Gabriel felt he needed to think further on this. Things were obviously in worse shape that he thought they were.

Michaels POV:

It happened as he was flying back from visiting his troops somewhere in what the humans had called Europe. Michael was treating all the travel he was doing as his final tour. In fact, ever since he had accepted the prophets' message from his father, he had been busy moving key resources around the globe. He knew he wasn't able to take any forces with him, so he had been making other preparations for how his Kingdom would be run when he was as he liked to call his mission, 'off world!'

It was the second familiar tug at the centre of his being that reminded him that his true vessel had once again entered this world. 'Just as my father said, he would come again and this time would be the last. I am nearly ready father, just a few more arrangements to finalise and I will be ready to step out on this new crusade for you.' In a matter of seconds, Michael was flying towards his vessel, but like always, he needed to remain in stealth mode. As much as he wanted to show himself and engage with the visitors, he new there was still some information he needed to gleam and also there were a number of arrangements that needed to be in place.

So, instead of the grand entrance, Michael appeared invisible as the team of four were discussing which direction to take. He noticed two angels, one of which was barely even an angel, going by the readings on his grace levels but as usual his attention was on the Winchesters. As tempted as he was to spend all of his focus on his 'sword', this time he was here for a different reason. In fact, Michael had spent the last week or so trying to figure out the best approach and as he waded through all the information he had on the eldest Winchester, he was still a little unsure as how best to secure that all important little yes from him. But, that's why he had decided to drop in. As he took in the brother's relationship and then their plans, he hatched his own plan. 'Well, more of a test really, but one he knew would help decide his final approach.'

With the decision made, he quickly took off, this time travelling along the path his vessel was most likely going to take. He scanned the countryside looking to collect the best resources he needed for his little experiment. It wasn't long until he came across the perfect scenario.

Looking down, he sensed a feeding frenzy taking place within the Moorfield tunnels, which was the perfect short cut enroute to Dayton. Feeling out the screams of a small human party who were stupid enough to wander into a particularly vicious nest of mutated vampires, Michael quickly made his business to seek out exactly what he needed. And he found them immediately. It wasn't difficult. He knew immediately when he saw the young girl that she would be perfect, but she couldn't escape on her own so he picked out another to accompany her. Whilst invisible, he used some of his powers to allow them to escape back the way they had came and run out of the tunnel. It was then that he needed to hold back a few of the vampires for at least 30 minutes, to allow the scene to be properly set. After 30 minutes he released two of the vampires who immediately picked up their scent and chanced the faded daylight to catch their rare food source.

Scene set, he took flight once again, to make sure the Winchesters were properly in place for his little test. In a matter of seconds he was back beside the party of off worlders as they walked along the pathway towards Dayton. As he arrived, he managed to pick up some of the conversation from the angel Castiel. 'Something about Heaven being down to their last angels. Who cares, if they're anything like these two specimens, that Heaven deserves everything it gets. That's what happens when you stray so far off the path of righteousness.' It was then that his thoughts looked towards his vessel. 'And as for you, my sword, one more test to see how far I can push before it's too far.'

The archangel chose to silently watch it play out. Walking just behind both brothers, he observed their interaction and listened to their conversation. After a period of quiet, in which each brother eyed one another, Dean spoke up, "you seem different since we got here. Yeah, like you're lighter, happier, more energetic." Sam wasn't too sure how to answer, " I don't know, maybe it's mum and Jack… you know.. I mean we've been working at this for so long and so hard and now we're here. We're close. Can't you feel it?" At this Sam gives a short laugh and looks directly at Dean and he nods and then they both look straight ahead, both deep in thought.

Michael took in their closeness. It was true. His brother Sam was everything to his vessel. He watches as Dean thinks further on Sam's words but before he can answer, the silence is broken by the screams (as Michael had predicted) of a female, coming from somewhere to the right, just off the pathway. Michael smiles as he watches the taller Winchester raise his head and listen as there are now two shrieks coming from somewhere in the woods. Dean and Sam waste no time in going into combat mode and moving to overtake both the angels who had been walking ahead of them. As they overtake, Michael notices the other angel (who is familiar but he wasn't relevant to him at this moment in time, so he ignored him) speak up, "not our world, not our problem. Right?" Thankfully for Michael, both the humans ignored the angel as they both tried to identify where the noise was precisely coming from.

'Come on, take the bait humans, the noise is coming from that way. Be quick now, before the last of the moveable feast is eaten.' Michael could barely contain himself. He wanted to intervene, take his vessel and shaken him until he listened and obeyed, but he knew better. Thankfully, it didn't take the hunters long to locate the screams and take out the creatures. Michael was impressed as both hunters swiftly dealt with the danger as he knew they would. 'And now, take the bait. Go on. I need you to do this one last thing, so I can know my course.'

As everyone catches their breath, Dean turned round and helped the human, Maggie, get up. "What the hell was that thing?" Michael was a little surprised. 'Surely his vessel should know what a vampire was? He was a hunter after all!' Maggie captured his thoughts well, "what do you mean… a vampire!?" then it all became clear as Dean looked surprise and Sam answered her. "It's not like any vamp we've ever seen." Michael became bored as the conversation turned to interruptions, which frankly was unimportant in the grand scheme of his plan, but he held his patience in check and let things play themselves out.

Similar to Michael, Dean seems to get to the point. "We're not from around here. Tell me, what makes a blood sucker look like that?" He was answered by the other human called Floyd, "Starvation. When Michael's armies started to wipe out the humans they didn't think about monsters or what happened to them when their food source dried up. Turns out, not eating makes them wild. Nothing but pure stupid appetite."

On hearing this explanation, Michael was intrigued. Throughout the years, Michael had indeed paid little attention to humans never name monsters, but as he looked down to the ground and really took some time to look closer at the creature he couldn't help see a simplistic purity. There was a slight shiver as he thought, of all the beings he had engaged with, including his very own angels, monsters were pure and simple. They just wanted to eat. They didn't seem to have any other agenda except to survive and eat. Sadly, he was unable to dwell on where his thoughts could go on this, but he promised himself that when he began to take forward his plans on the other side of the rift, he would spend time considering the role of monsters in his plans.

He was reminded of his mission by the human female as she asked what way they were heading. His vessel stated they were travelling North and it became clear they were all travelling to Dayton. "We were going there to. We heard the rebels Jack and Mary set up a satellite colony there. An outpost." The archangel watched the silent communication pass between the brothers and then Sam realised what she had said. "Wait! What do you mean you where?" She continued, "me, Floyd, the rest of our group, we were crossing north through the Moorhead Tunnel, we stumbled into a whole nest of those things."

Michael could tell from the look on his vessels face that Dean didn't really need to hear much more of her story. He was joining the dots and knew how this story went. Floyd continued, "9 of us went in, only me and Maggie came out." It was at this stage that Michael would have held his literal breath (if he had one). Now was the moment of truth, would they take the chance? Thankfully Dean asked whether the tunnel was the only way north? It became clear that they could go around but it was a very long detour. As predicted, Michael knew time was not on their side and Sam seemed to make the decision for everyone. "No, we're already two days out form Dayton as it is. We don't have time for a detour….. Listen, we've faced worse than a nest of vamps before. Much worse. SO if you still want to get to Dayton, we'll keep you safe. As far as we're concerned. We're going through that tunnel!" Michael watched as his vessel agreed and they all moved off, towards the tunnel and towards his little test!"

Unfortunately for Michael his glee was short lived as he felt the arrival of his brother Lucifer. Though he had knowledge that Lucifer would also revisit this world, this news did not provide Michael with any pleasure. In fact, it only cemented in how accurate the prophets vision was and what was about to happen. So, he stamped down any desire to go towards his brother and smite him, instead he remained focused on the humans and two angels. 'Keep the faith. All of this has been foreseen and ordained by Father. It's not my place to intervene at the moment. Lucifer has a role to play, I must let that come to pass.'

Gabriel's POV:

As Gabriel walked towards the entrance of the tunnel. He was filled with dread. Every instinct told him that this was so not a good idea. In fact, his angelic powers, though greatly depleted, were screaming at him that there was also something going on. He couldn't put a name to his concerns and as he had no evidence to offer a counter argument, he kept quiet and tried to keep the fear of what could happen to them when they entered the tunnel at bay.

No sooner had they arrived at the entrance, that everyone moved into hunter mode. Torches were out, weapons were locked and loaded and machetes were at the ready. Gabriel was even impressed that somehow they'd managed to located some glow sticks. 'Well at least the Winchesters won't kill me because they mistook me for the enemy in the dark!' At that thought, he managed to lighten his mood. Just a little bit. He was broken out of his reverie by Sam. "Alright, here's the plan, stay close, keep walking, anything moves, kill it!" This was followed by a quick weapons check and then Dean spoke up, "Let's do this!" Gabriel watched as the elder brother walked towards the entrance, whilst Sam ripped by the makeshift door so Dean could enter first with his gun raised.

It had been 20 or so minutes of wandering down tunnels, guided only by torchlight. The only thing 'exciting' that had happened, was when the human Floyd had accidently tripped. Only it wasn't due to a stone, but sadly, due to falling over one of his former friends' shoe and leg, and body. Floyd apologised for making a noise and the group continued deeper into the tunnel system. The noise was broken again by Sam. "Wait, wait, wait. Here. Let me." Sam had come across movement in front of them. He had ventured closer to identify what it was and sadly their luck had run it's course as they came across their first vampire. As it attempted to attack, Sam had beheaded it with one swing of his machete.

Gabriel had to admit it. He had a huge admiration for both Winchesters. These two little humans were constantly up against it, but despite what obstacle that stood in their way, they 'put on their big boy pants' and faced it. That thought helped make Gabriel a little braver as he followed both Winchesters through the tunnel system. He knew, that despite everything both Sam and Dean would some how make sure he got out alive. Unfortunately, these thoughts were all well and good, but they couldn't counter the growing feeling that the proverbial was about to 'hit the fan!' In fact, Gabriel could sense and feel the creatures just outside of his reach and lurking in the dark.

As expected the first attack came when Maggie let out a scream as a vampire tried to pull her away from the group. Dean was lightening quick and within seconds the vamp was beheaded. Dean followed it up with a "you alright?" Both Floyd and Maggie nodded. "Let's keep moving!" All Gabriel could think was 'understatement Deano!' So on the back of Dean's order, everyone continued to move through the tunnel and soon found themselves coming out into a larger cavern. Somewhere within it, there was some natural light and a drip of water pooling into a large puddle. Dean had moved to look up to get a sense of where he was. Everyone was on heightened awareness as they could hear scurrying from along the sides of the cavern wall.

Following a parameter sweep, Dean noticed that one of the tunnels was blocked. It made sense that this was the way out. "Hey, we've a blocked passage over here. We need to move some rocks." Gabriel and Castiel looked at one another. 'Well that's one thing I could help with.' With that thought, both angels moved towards the tunnel and began to shift the large rocks. Though, every hair of the back of Gabriel's neck was standing up. This felt bad. It felt like a trap. Suddenly the scurrying noise behind the walls increased. Maggie was nervous and shouted out 'Guys'. At this stage, Sam had decided to investigate further in order to protect the safe zone they had created for themselves.

"Dean?" As Sam was trying to get his brother's attention, all hell broke loose. Out of every hole in the wall, vamps began to appear in a co-ordinated attack. Sam shouted, "I got it. I got it!" It was then that Dean realised he hadn't got it as it was clear everyone was being overpowered. Floyd had already been trailed off and Sam was fiercely fighting off a number of vamps. Dean jumped in to help Maggie who was struggling to survive. Before long Dean was entangled but he managed to keep an eye on his brother. And what he saw was not good. He shouted, "SAMMY!" His call was met by his brother shouting his name back.

Gabriel and Castiel worked tirelessly to removed the rocks as they could sense there wasn't much further to go. If they could get the rubble out of the way, it would literally take a few minutes until everyone left got to safety. It was when the last rock was being removed that Gabriel heard the shouting from the brothers. Castiel was the first to move back to fight, but Gabe had a really bad feeling about this. And he wasn't wrong. He heard Dean's scream of anguish and that's when he looked and saw the giant Winchester get his neck tore out by one of two vampires. As the blood flew out from his neck, Gabriel knew in his heart of hearts that Sam was dead. He watched in shock as the vamps dragged Sam back into the darkness.

"SAMMY!" Dean kept fighting the vampire. Castiel shouted after Sam and went to follow with the aim of getting Sam back dead or alive. Dean managed through righteous anger to behead one vamp and as another went to leap at him he blew it's head to pieces. As soon as the danger was removed, he turned to follow Cas and Sam, but was stopped by a retreating Castiel. "He's gone." As Cas uttered these words, Gabriel knew Dean was going to ignore his own safety and follow his brother. And true to form, the older brother pushed against his friend to try and get past him. Dean shouted, "NO!" Castiel had to be the voice of reason. "Dean! We don't have time. We can't save him!"

Gabriel watched Dean Winchester break. He saw it in the human's eyes. His reason for existing was gone. If Dean had his way he would abandon the mission and follow his brother, ultimately towards his own death. Fortunately for Dean he had people who cared and were able to stop him from self-destructing. So, it was with the heaviest heart that Gabriel and Castiel dragged Dean and Maggie through the last tunnel and out into what was left of daylight.

Michael's POV:

'Well that was entertaining if nothing else!' Michael smiled in satisfaction at what had happened in front of him. As he had foreseen, Sam Winchester would die in the tunnel and he knew that sooner or later his brother would resurrect and use the young Winchester to barter his way into better favour with his son. That was of no real interest at the moment to Michael. It was important, but it was what he had learned from the test that was of the most importance to him and he had learned his first lesson.

As he looked on, Michael had saw first hand the recklessness of Dean Winchester. He witnessed how little self-regard for his own safety the hunter had. Dean really did not care about his own survival. The only thing that truly mattered to him was his mission and his family. Michael couldn't help himself, he had to smile at how alike they really were. 'I too understand, you follow your orders your father gives you, no matter what the cost don't you Dean?' Unfortunately, Michael couldn't really celebrate because the second observation give him something to consider in his plan – the role of Castiel.

Castiel was going to be a problem. The angel had a strong hold on his vessel. Too strong of a hold on him. Dean was ready to die for his brother, but the angel had stepped in and had physically stopped him and ordered him out of the cave. Michael had to resist destroying the seraph there and then. 'No one should have that much sway over my vessel. Only me.' Castiel's connection to his 'sword' had to be considered when he finally made his move. Michael knew that Castiel would do anything to ensure that Dean Winchester never said yes to him. But what to do about this information? 'Do I destroy you Castiel or do I manipulate the situation and keep you alive as you could be a way of controlling Dean if needed.'

As useful as these observations had been, the test had been about Dean and how far he could be pushed before he went from being able to be skilfully manipulated to being useless. And this information had yet to be determined. With this thought, Michael decided to watch his vessel as they walked towards the rebel camp.

It was clear to the archangel that his human was deep in shock. Dean may have been upright and walking but that was as far as it went. Michael looked deep within his vessel, directly to the soul and it was there that he saw it. As the righteous man, Dean's soul shone brighter than any other soul in existence. But as he watched the soul he saw how destroyed and devastated it was. The light, though bright, was slowly dying. If Michael didn't know better he would insist that Sam must have been connected, almost like soulmates. Dean's soul was certainly reacting like a soulmate. Michael chose to move from looking into his soul, instead he decided to reach into his mind and there he witnessed Dean relive the death of his brother over and over again. This was not good. The test had been about seeing how far Dean could be pushed and manipulated until Michael had him in the position to get that all important yes, but it was very clear that to kill Sam was not going to get the yes. Instead, it would lead to Dean spiralling downward into self destruction.

Michael had his answer. The test had been harsh, but effective. He now knew what he had to do to get the yes that he required. With a smile on his face and knowing that his brother was in the process of resurrecting Sam Winchester, Michael knew Dean's soul and heart would recover when he would see his brother safe and sound. With a flap of his wings, Michael took flight. He now knew he had literally just a few days to finalise everything and make his final move on this world, at least.

Gabriel's POV:

As they got closer to Dayton, Gabriel took the time to reflect on the events of the day. Despite being an archangel, Gabe was heartbroken. He had always like the large sasquatch and he couldn't bring himself to take in the shadow of a brother that was Dean. He knew that Dean would most likely get everyone to the camp and take off to go get Sam's body or something crazy like that. But, as he looked at the eldest Winchester he took in his soul and then he remembered the question he had asked himself just before his face hit Castiel's crotch 'Big bro, how will you take this merry band of visitors to your kingdom?'

Eyes widened, 'MICHAEL! Oh Raspberries! Wait a moment, where is Michael? He should have been here, especially with what just happened. There's no way he didn't sense Dean, never name the pain his vessel's special soul would be going through. So, going with the view that he did know, then why hasn't he shown his wings yet?' All of these were great questions, and sadly, he hadn't any answers for any of them. But he knew deep down, that there was no way Michael would not have known what had happened.

So, logically, if he knew and did nothing, they WHY? Not knowing his older brother's plans was very unnerving. 'Lucifer was a problem, but Michael was a genius who had taught Luci everything he had known. Michael had to have a game plan, but what?'

Gabriel came out of his own thought process as he watched Castiel staggered. "Hmmm, I can't….this warding is too strong." Everyone looked towards the trees and it was clear there were sigils painted on the trunks of trees scattered around the forest. It was next to impossible for Cas to continue. Gabriel took out his angel blade and tapped the warding and then he raised his hand and used some of his grace to destroy the warding. The effect was immediate as Castiel recovered quickly, but as they began to move off, they stopped in their tracks as a man with a gun came out from behind a tree.

As if sensing danger, Dean automatically went into defensive mode and raised his gun. Castiel spoke up on behalf of the group. "whoow, whoow, we're not here to fight. We're just looking for…. Mary?" As Castiel said her name, everyone looked towards were his gaze had fallen and a woman's voice said, "Castiel?" Cas was shocked that they had found Mary Winchester. Mary was equally as shocked as she took in the angel in front of her. Automatically her gazed panned across the group, searching out for her sons. That was when her eyes found her eldest, Dean. Gabriel watched as their eyes met and they began to walk towards one another. The reunion was heart breaking. He watched as Dean and Mary hugged, the mother smiling but the son's eyes open and most likely thinking, 'how do I tell my mum, I lost her baby boy?'

Gabriel knew how broken the situation was because Dean Winchester didn't say a word. Normally, the human would have been defiant and mouthy in the face of a challenge, but now, he stood in front of his mother, mouth slightly ajar and when Mary asked, 'where's Sam?' The entire story was told through a single tear making it's way slowly down his cheek. Mary knew, Sam was dead.

It wasn't long after the reunion, that the group moved off again. This time, they had a guard escort by to the heart of the camp, towards Jack. Gabriel was relieved that they had found both Mary and Jack, but he knew that the cost had been too great and he wasn't sure whether they could get everyone back through the rift that needed to return. With that sobering thought, Gabriel bowed his head and walked quietly into the rebel camp.

Michael's POV:

As much as Michael could have easily ignored the death of Sam Winchester, he now knew that the brother had a major role to play. He needed to live and despite the prophet's vision, he had to make sure that nothing was left to chance. So, it was with some reluctance that Michael chanced invisibly revisiting the tunnel. This time he sought out the centre of the maze of tunnels, because it was right in the central chamber that he would find not just Sam Winchester but his brother, Lucifer.

As always, Michael was not disappointed, because when he arrived he came across both the younger Winchester and Lucifer. Ignoring the temptation to intervene, Michael moved to the wall surface and lent against it and listened. As he overheard the conversation, he was glad he had taken the time to check. What he had learned could be of great use. Though, he was not interested in the emotional baggage that the human carried, he was fascinated by the lengths his brother would go to, to garner favour with his son. This was useful information and information he could use later when needed.

He watched as Lucifer give Sam Winchester little to no choice and before long, Sam had reluctantly agreed to the proposal. Knowing that the human was safe and would be reunited with his brother, left Michael with all the information he needed. Now he had to wait, but thankfully not for long. The hand of destiny was slowly closing and he was ready to accept and play his role.

Armed with this information he took flight and as he passed over the rebel camp, he looked down to see his vessel get ready to return to the tunnel. Though he knew Dean would not be in danger, the archangel couldn't resist keeping a watchful eye. He would deny that this was not obsession but merely reconnaissance. So without further thought, he landed within the human's pitiful camp and walked amongst them without detection. As he came closer to his true vessel, he took in Dean's demeanour. Michael couldn't help but acknowledge how accurate his observation had been. His vessel would never say yes if Sam Winchester was dead, but would if he was in trouble, but could be saved.


	14. Ch 14 - I want to break free!

**Chapter 14: I want to break free!**

 _ **Just over three days ago….**_

Michael's POV:

It wasn't easy standing this close to his true vessel. Michael had thought that he would be used to it by now, but no such luck. The electricity buzzing through his true self was hard to keep in check and he had to be very careful as his brother Lucifer and the damn half breed were literally less than 10 feet from him.

Michael knew it was a risk. He should have flown past the camp and away from his 'sword' but he knew that Raphael had everything in hand, and if he was honest, he had quickly lost interest in whether this world survived or not. Everything of importance for him, lay in the hands of the Winchesters. Nothing else mattered. Not securing the angelic legions to this south or destroying the resistance. All important, but they would be Raphael's headache. He had a bigger and better destiny. One were he would be finally free of the shackles of this miserable world and free to roam the other, finally building the utopia that his father had promised. All he had to do was get through the next few days. Armed with this thought, he centred his power within and focused on the goal.

Now that had re-centred his focus, Michael took in the interesting reunion in front of him. Firstly, there was the Winchester reunion. Michael took in how the entire camp seemed to freeze when Sam and Lucifer had arrived. Looking towards his vessel, Michael took in the shock as Dean said, "Sam?" He watched as Sam moved towards his mother and they embraced. Michael could tell how much his vessel wanted to rush to his brother, but there was too many people there. He couldn't help smirking at how so alike his vessel and he really were. 'You're perfect. Just made for me.'

Michael listened as Sam explained how Lucifer had brought him back and he couldn't help applaud his brother for his shameless ability of taking advantage of the situation. Lucifer stood open and non-threatening. He even had a smirk on in his face as he agreed that it was he who had saved and give the precious baby brother an extra life. As Lucifer pointed towards the other angel and stated, "Besides, what with my little bro here being a hot mess, I figured you need me. I'm here to join the team." With the last sentence, Lucifer had specifically aimed his comments towards the nephilim.

As Lucifer had been speaking, Michael considered the alliance that could form here. He was concerned, that Lucifer on his own was dangerous but not a real problem, but if he joined with the humans and with his progeny then there could be problems. Though, it was the smaller angel that originally had been ignored that now garnered his attention. Michael had always known that this angel's grace was very weak, nearly to the point of him being human. But as Lucifer had given him attention, Michael took the time to identify the other angel. Just in case this unknown element could ruin his plans! 'No. No, it can't be! Is this what is left of our little bro, Gabriel? No. Just no. How far you have fallen baby brother. This is what happens to you when you side with the humans and get too close to them.' As he took in Gabriel, he realised that there was no way the younger archangel would pose a problem. So as Lucifer did, he too dismissed him.

"Your name is Jack?" As Lucifer had asked his name, Jack answered, "and yours is Lucifer." The moment was interrupted by his vessel. It was clear that Dean did not want any interaction between the two of them. 'Interesting!' "No. No! Oh no." Dean moved towards both father and son. "You don't talk to him and you, don't listen to him." Lucifer disagreed. "Don't you think that's his choice?... are you trying to keep me from my son?" The other angel, Castiel defended his vessel's behaviour, "No. This is Kelly Kline's son. He nothing like you."

Michael knew his brother well, and he could see that this conversation was really annoying Lucifer. This development was fascinating as well. The half breed has a role yet to play. As he thought on, he nearly missed as Lucifer argued back to Castiel, "don't say he's nothing like me. I'm the only one who understands him. This power he has. I'm powerful. Dangerous. Ruthless… in the best sense though." Michael watched with interest as the nephilim lowered his eyes and thought on his brother's words. It was true, the child really was struggling with his position in life. And typical Lucifer, he had managed to identify the vulnerability within seconds. But Michael's 'sword' was not finished. Like Michael, Dean could sense only too well the danger of letting Lucifer into your head. "No. Kill him!" As Dean gestured towards Gabriel, Michael felt sad, he knew that even at his best, this archangel Gabriel hadn't the power. Lucifer knew this too and stated, "he's not strong enough."

As Gabriel tried to speak to Dean, Dean continued, "you've got the blade…" Jack shouted for him to stop, but Dean continued, "…. He's the devil… KILL HIM!" Everyone watched as Jack had heard enough and in his emotional confusion, had taken flight. As Dean defended his actions, "Oh great! Does that when he's scared. Way to go DAD!" Michael smiled. This was the first time he had seen his vessel and Lucifer interact. It was very clear there was nothing but hatred coming off Dean. 'Hatred against my brother. I wonder, who do you hate more Dean, me or him?' Glad he had stayed to observe the interactions, Michael learned so much in 15 minutes. All of this he could use. All of this is would use.

As Gabriel went off in search of the nephilim, Lucifer spoke. "I don't understand all the hostility? You. Need. Me! I am a walking weapon. I know this Michael. Heck. I beat him! So, how about a littl T" It was obvious that Castiel had heard enough as he moved towards the vessel and reached into the backpack to retrieve something. Michael had never been happy with just how comfortable this angel was around HIS vessel. He didn't realise that he had clenched his fists in rage. On noticing his own behaviour, Michael corrected it immediately. 'He was not jealous. No, he was furious that angels had had the opportunity interact and support his vessel'. Shaking his head and snapping his thoughts out of it, he turned his attention as the angel moved to imprison his brother.

As the cuffs went on Lucifers' wrists, Michael smirked. 'Well, that's never going to hold you brother! What are you playing at now? Ahh, now I see what you're doing. Nicely played. Nicely played.' He watched the angel Castiel explain. "In case your innate evil overwhelms this new found team spirit you won't mind wearing these then will you? You're not at full power. They should hold you." Michael watched his vessel, who was clearly not impressed and was not convinced the cuffs would hold him. But Michael's ears picked up from Lucifer that there was still time as 'I left Rowena some grace. So you have, I'm thinkin,… emm.. 31 hours give or take.' Michael registered the time. He now had the specific timetable to work to. And like Dean, who had just checked his watch, both vessel and angel knew it was going to be tight to do what needed to be done.

With this thought, Michael vanished. He had a few things to complete.

Mary's POV:

Mary watched as her two boys finally hugged it out. She could tell it was a much needed private moment between the two of them. She loved them both very much, but the single tear and the look of devastation on Dean's face had almost destroyed her. He couldn't even put in words that his brother had died. Instead, the tear running down his cheek told her everything. Thankfully Sam had been saved, by Lucifer of all people. That thought left her very uneasy. She had never liked the role Lucifer had played in both her sons lives. But it left her very uncomfortable at the archangels' motives. The devil never did anything unless it was of direct benefit to him. He would gladly have enjoyed leaving Sam were he was and watching Dean destroy himself, so why? It was obvious. It was to get close to his son.

That thought filled her with even more dread. These past few months Jack had become a son to her. She cared deeply about him but feared that his father, the literal devil, was circling. Whatever he wanted, it couldn't bode well for Jack or anyone else. Jack was powerful, perhaps one of the most powerful beings to walk the earth. To think that Lucifer could get his hooks into him, shape and mould him was unthinkable. But here she was now, trying to get the clearest picture of all the people involved in order to ensure that Lucifer didn't win. And right now, as she looked towards her sons, she realised, perhaps the biggest asset Lucifer had now to persuade Jack was in fact Dean. Dean was too emotional. And his hatred of Lucifer would push the boy towards his father, not away from him. She would need to keep a closer watch.

Dean's POV:

I was so angry. No, it wasn't just anger, it was frustration, confusion and topped off with some powerlessness. Either way, it was far too many emotions for a Winchester to have at once, but nothing about these past two days had been normal. Dean was used to solving problems by hitting it, killing it or even at times eating it. But not today. Today had been one of the worst days of his life and that was saying something. Every time he had closed his eyes over the past few hours, he had relived the death of his brother and that image would just not disappear, even though he was sure he was looking at all 6 foot 4 inches of his brother in front of him.

'What made matters worse was who had saved him. I could have taken anyone else. Amara, Azazel, even Michael, but not Lucifer. Not him. And he did it with a smug, self-satisfying grin whilst indirectly rubbing it in, that me, big brother had not been powerful or skilled enough to save him. It has just been too much. The emotions were still so raw. One minute, my Sammy was gone and then I'm hugging mum, who I thought was dead and had to worry whether she was alive and trying to survive in a bombed out apocalypse world. But setting that all aside, I hadn't had a chance to speak to Sammy yet. Not since his resurrection. And then I had to go and blow up like that with Jack. Couldn't the kid not see through his father. It was the frickin devil for crying out loud! You're not meant to want to understand and bond with him. Please, oh please, I don't want to be right in the end about Jack. Please kid, don't trust in that bastard. Please, just don't!'

Dean squashed everything down and he was sure he needed to revisit his concerns about Jack and Lucifer before this mission was over, but for now, he needed to reconnect with his brother. Until he did that he knew deep down that he wouldn't function as he needed and this was too important of a mission to not be on his 'A' game. So it was those thoughts swirling in his head, that he made his way up the steps of the cabin and towards his little bro. He could tell from the stance, that Sam was focusing on his phone. Most likely being ultra-organised and setting his stop watch so we knew exactly how much time we had to complete the mission.

Sam must have heard him as he turned round to finally greet me too. "Hey, I'm sorry… About all this." Dean could understand where Sam was coming from, because he to had been there with this type of guilt before. "Are you good?" Dean knew he was right because Sam looked down as if something fascinating was happening with their boots. "I'm alive, yeah." Dean breathed out. That was all he needed to know and more importantly hear from him. " Well then you've got nothing to apologise for." We hugged but we must definitely didn't have a heart warming moment. 'No sir, we did not!' "I thought I'd lost you man." Sam acknowledged in the way Sam always did. He was happy and Dean felt, that no matter where they ended up, he knew he was home, as long as he was with his brother. But in typical Winchester style, the chick flick moment was over and both were in business mode.

Looking directly at Sam, Dean said, "what are we going do about to do about Lucifer?" 'Was there any other questions worth talking about! With no surprise, I could tell that Sam was ready to finish this and I could only imagine what the devil had whispered in Sam's ear when he was resurrecting him.' "I'll handle him. I will Dean. Let me handle him." It was clear from the head nods that Sam meant business, he was adamant that this task was going to be done. Dean believed him, he just hoped it wouldn't cost too much. "OK", it was the only reply Dean could make.

Moment over, the boys discussed the next steps. They had been incredibly lucky to find their mum and Jack so quickly, but now they needed to get moving, especially now that the clock was ticking. Eager to get moving and home, Dean piped up, "What's the next move, now that Lucifer's in the mix?" Sam shrugged his shoulders. They had both imagined a number of possible scenarios, but this one, they hadn't really thought of, despite the fact that they were using the devils' grace to keep the door open. "I'm not sure, but I know one thing, we need to move and move soon, because it will be cutting it close as it is and the longer Jack is near Lucifer, I fear it could make things even worse!"

"Well that makes things simple. We grab mum and Jack and I say we high tail it out of here, back through the rift. Close the door and let Michael and Lucifer kill each other. Job done, and your welcome!" Even though Dean knew he was being optimistic in one part and selfish in another, he knew it would not be that simple. So, both brothers believed, the first thing they needed to do was to get their mother organised and then they would both approach Jack. Unfortunately, when it came to their mother, Dean knew the woman was strong willed and would have her own thoughts on the so called plan! Sadly, for Dean he was about to get another slap to the face.

The first thing he saw as he approached his mum was her interaction between Lucifer and her and mainly the punch directly to his face. Dean couldn't help but be in awe at his mum. 'Who could say that their mother punched the devil not once but a whole number of times in the face. Awesome!' But Dean quickly buried that thought as there were more important matters to attend to. So instead he complimented Mary with 'nice shot'. He could tell that Sam was equally impressed when he included a 'no kidding' with the remark. In typical Sam style, he pushed forward and straight to business. "Hey, emm, we really should go look for Jack and get back home…. Before it's too late" Dean was not prepared for the answer his mum was about to provide him. "I, eh, boys, eh, about that." Deans heart began to sink as her words began to sink in. 'Oh no mum. Please not this again. We came for you. Are you not happy to see us? Are you not ready to come home with us so we can work on us being a family, for once?' But he said none of this, instead he waited for those dreaded words, and no surprise they came. "I'm not going back." Mary had them no sooner out of mouth, that Dean answered, "I'm sorry what?!" He was trying not to sink into denial but it was beginning to hurt deep within him. 'How many times could we take this type of rejection. I know deep down, that mum doesn't hate us. I shouldn't take it personal, but how else am I meant to take this?'

Mary continued, "I fought beside these people. I respect them. I respect their cause. You can't expect me to abandon them." Sam added, "that's not. You heard, what Lucifer said, we have 31 hours." But Mary was standing her ground. "Sam! Dean! I know what you went through to come find me. But these people are being slaughtered." Dean fought ever instinct he had. He wanted to shout at his mum, 'yeah sure you know what sacrifices we made to get here. The hell we went through. The pain and the suffering. NOT! But don't worry, you put the needs of strangers above your sons. What would be different.' But Dean didn't say any of this. He couldn't. This was his mother and he loved her, no matter what. He didn't want to think that maybe he loved her much more than she loved him. 'After all, it has only been one year mum, since you've known the adult version of me, Dean, your son. Heck, mum probably knows most of these people and Jack better than she knows me and Sam. Who am I trying to kid. Only myself.'

Instead of giving voice to his thoughts and insecurities, Dean let his face show how upset and even betrayed he felt. It was clear he knew she was choosing others over her sons again. Mary saw the look and said, "They need me here." Dean couldn't help himself, emotion showing he answered, "No. We need you mum" We do!" Mother and oldest son were locked in a battle of wills. Dean continued, "We've been mopping up the world for years. Years! We've been knocked down, we've been possessed. We've lost friends, we've lost family. We've lost each other. And we've never walked away from a fight. And sometimes, we should of, cause not every fight everywhere could be won. It just can't. Tell her!"

Dean was expecting a response, but not this. "I think mum made up her mind." Dean almost didn't catch the significance of what he had said, but Sam continued, "mum doesn't want to leave these people. So let's take them with us!" Dean let those words sink in. 'Oh hell no Sam! We can't. There's no possible way we can get all these people across this terrain and back home. Never name what we'd do when they're home?' Instead, Dean let his 'what the fuck' look show on his face when Sam sided with Mary. Sensing weakness, but trying not to get too excited, Mary continued, "They'll never leave their home. They'll never leave their cause." Sam countered, "I'm not saying abandon the fight. I'm saying we get them somewhere safe and then we all figure a way to take down Michael. Then once we do, they can come back and save their world." Dean thought it sounded so simple, too simple, his mum would never believe him, but for a second time in minutes, Dean was shocked. Mary had a look of pure adoration and pride on her face when she looked at Sam. Proud that he had been smart, caring and considerate to think of all angles, not just about themselves. Seeing the look and thinking on this further, Dean could do nothing but agree. He wasn't 100% bought into the plan, but he felt that his voice meant less now somehow and if he voiced it he would be seen as selfish. So he said nothing.

His thoughts were interrupted as Mary said, "you do that for them?" She smiled. Dean tried to hide his concerns and his emotions and as per usual, these were best hid behind humour and bravado. He simply replied, "well, what we got? Nine busting out, what's a few more. How many we talking about?" He got his answer that it was too many just by the sheer amount of time it took Mary to count up in her head. "25". It was on hearing the number that Sam seemed to snort. He hadn't realised there were so many but instead of letting his mother down, like Dean he looked towards the ground and silently panicked as to how they were going to make this work.

With the decision made, Mary walked off towards the centre of the camp, most likely to inform the others, that there was a mass evacuation. This could not happen without at least speaking with the other resistance leaders and that meant leaving the camp and making their way towards Bobby's settlement. That in itself was a good few hours away. As Mary walked away, Sam seemed to sense Dean's mood and thought best to make himself busy somewhere else. On the other hand, Dean stood still with his hands clenched at his sides. He had a headache coming on. 'What the hell do I do now? It's going to be difficult getting there on time but with moving so many people, we run the risk of grabbing angelic attention, most likely from Michael.'

It was the thought of that particular archangel that filled Dean with a strange fear. He had always revered Michael in some way, though he had only really engaged with the other worlds' Michael at least twice. But this world's version was by all costs, even worse. 'What if he finds us and stops us? What if he knows who or more likely what I am? I will fight him, but my family are here. Can I hold out against him? Would I be able to deny this version the yes, the other Michael failed to get? I don't' think I'm as strong as I once was.' He closed his eyes and tried with every ounce of inner strength he had to stop both his hands from shaking by his sides. After a few minutes of taking deep breaths he calmed down. It was at this moment that he realised that it was better not to think further about Michael. He needed to concentrate in getting everyone home safe and sound. After all, he was not the most important issue, there were so many other things and people ahead of him that needed to be considered first. With that thought, he opened his eyes and moved to help his brother and mother gets things moving.

Castiel POV:

Castiel was worried. He was worried about Dean and his current behaviour. It hadn't missed his attention that Dean had watched his brother die. Had seen him resurrected, by Lucifer of all things and now was trying to get his mother and Jack to come home with them. Jack. That was the big question for Castiel. He was really worried about the nephilim. Not only was he struggling with the day to day stuff of having the weight of looking after all these humans, but he now had to contend with his father being present. Of course, Dean's behaviour towards Lucifer coupled with his parenting approach towards Jack being similar to that of John Winchester was so not helping. In fact, thanks to Dean pushing, Jack had vanished and no doubt was sitting angsting over everything somewhere.

Now, Castiel was facing Lucifer, something he had hoped he wouldn't have to do directly again, but today was full of surprises. "Come on Cas, old sport!" Cas was not impressed. "I'm not your sport. And I will not broker a relationship between you and your…" It was the flutter of wings that marked Jack's arrival. Lucifer thought it funny and he remarked, "speak of the 'not devil'". Jack walked closer to both angels. Lucifer looked at his son, "Son!" Jack did not like this, "It's Jack!" Castiel felt it was time to warn Jack about his father. "Jack, talking with Lucifer, it's, it's not a good idea." Unfortunately for Castiel, Jack was too curious for his own good. "I'm not going to talk, I'm going to listen."

Castiel closed his eyes in frustration and dismay. This was so not a good idea, but he was powerless to do anything about it. He had learned from Dean's earlier approach, that that approach was not the best way of dealing with the Lucifer/Jack problem. Jack did not understand how manipulative the devil could be he. He would must likely play on Jack's insecurities. Lucifer took the opportunity to break his thoughts with a whispered, "he's going to listen." And with that smug reply, Cas shook his head.

"Whoow, I've been waiting for this moment for so long, I just don't know what to say. It's just this dad thing is sorta new to me. So a, do you have any questions you want to ask. Don't let my status as a legend hold you back." Jack interrupted with his question, "why does everyone hate you?" Castiel watched as Lucifer took the question in his stride. "Hah, well, he just got, he just got right to the point.. that's good. That's good. Good question, emm, you've probably heard the stories. Right? Anything ugly happens, any evil befalls the world, it's my fault. …. Fake news!" Cas couldn't believe the spin that was coming out of his mouth. "Well that's NOT. Entirely. True." Lucifer always had an answer to everything, so this was no different. " Well, well , well. I have done things that I'm not entirely proud of. I've led the occasional soul to ruin, this is true. But Jack, it's because humans are so messed up. They're so willing to be led." Thankfully Jack was still not won over. "My mother was human." Lucifer realised his mistake and backtracked, with "awesome lady. Incorruptible. Not like that. Great kisser and lost my virginity to her."

Cas shook his head, this was a car crash and he was watching it happen. Lucifer read between the lines and stopped the line of conversation. He corrected himself, "I mean the point is. Humans are not perfect. They're hardwired to fall and when they do they need a fall guy and…" Cas took in his explanation and couldn't believe the gall, "That's a vast over simplification." Lucifer did not like Castiel interfering, though he kept his temper. It wouldn't do if he accidently on purpose disintegrated the angel/father figure in front of Jack. "OK Cas, true or false, for over almost ever, I've been locked away in a cage?" Reluctantly Cas had to say yes. Lucifer continued is argument, "True. It's true. SO how did I do all this evil? For all these centuries, I wonder?" Cas knew it was too much, too late and give up and walked away to find Dean and Sam. Perhaps reinforcements was required. As he walked away, he heard Jack ask further questions. He was getting sucked in further into the devils' narrative.

Thankfully, Cas came across the two brothers quite quickly. He overheard Dean say, "OK, well getting an extra 25 in that rift may not be possible." Sam took his arrival to ask the question, "Cas, right any update on Jack?" Cas sighed, "He's back." As Sam asked where he was? Cas thought it was best to get to the point, "he's with Lucifer." Of course, it had the right reaction. No one was happy with this development and Dean's face said it all, 'what else could possibly go wrong!'.

Castiel watched as Dean went into overprotective mode. Within seconds he had managed to seek out and had located both Lucifer and Jack and as Cas, Dean and Sam approached, they could overhear the devil ramble on about powerful families in history, no doubt trying to impress the boy. Having heard enough bullshit, Dean interrupted. "Hey. Hey. I told you NO talking. And I told you NO listening!" Jack bit back, "Dean, he's in chains." As usual Dean had a witty retort, "His mouth isn't. I should have gagged him!" The next words out of Jack's mouth, hit home to Cas. This got to the route of everything that was going on with Jack. "I need to know about my powers. My family." Cas said, "Jack. We are your family. We have been protecting you, we've been honouring your mothers wishes. We're your family." Sammy lent his voice to the debate. "Jack, you have no idea who Lucifer is." Jack was annoyed now. "And I never will, unless I talk to him." Dean shouted, "Jack!" but Jack had grown strong in the past few months and didn't back down. "Dean! He's my father." Lucifer said nothing. He didn't need to. The damage to relationship had been done and in Castiels' opinion, Jack was one step closer to believing in his father.

Dean POV:

Dean was still fuming as they walked towards Bobby's camp. It hadn't taken long to dismantle the other camp and move out. He knew he had been too severe in his dealings with Lucifer in front of Jack. It's just he couldn't help himself. Lucifer had been the source of all of his family's pain and now he was obviously trying to manipulate his way into Jack's heart, but for what purpose? Because try as Dean might, he couldn't imagine, that it was for love. There had to be something else going on, and Dean was willing to bet the keys to his baby that it was for the power currently running through Jack's veins.

Dean internal ranting was interrupted by his mother, "we should reach base camp in a couple of hours." Dean and Sam both nodded as they led the column of survivors towards Bobby's camp and one step closer to safety. Dean couldn't relax as he knew less than 8 steps behind him, Lucifer was walking and talking to Jack. After having to listen to Lucifer mumbling, Dean got nervous. "Sam, go back there and check out what Helter Skelter there is saying to the damn kid!" Sam agreed and held back to naturally walk alongside them. Meanwhile Dean fumed on in silence. His body language was not lost on Mary. "Take it easy on Jack, he's been fighting a war. He's trying so hard to prove himself, but he's lost people, friends, it's gonna take a minute to get through it." Dean seemed to listen to what she was saying.

They walked on. Dean couldn't help hearing Jack speak to Sam about something to do with taking out Michael. Dean felt he had no control on anything and though, he would never say it to his mum or even Sam, he was worried. Every moment they were here, increased their chances of running into Michael. This was something that Dean really wanted to avoid. He couldn't put his finger on it, but ever since he had arrived to fulfil this mission, he had an increasing sense of uneasiness and foreboding. He would have felt stupid to share with Sam or Cas, but he had a weird feeling that at various times, he felt a presence close by. He had no evidence, but there were times earlier in the mission, that he felt he could sense something or someone else present.

Dean jumped, just a little when his mother continued, "Dean, like it or not, Lucifer is Jack's father. He's going to take an interest in him." Dean was annoyed. "So what we're just supposed to let Lucifer drag him over to the dark side." Mary smiled, she knew Jack well. "Jack's not going to the dark side. He'll see Lucifer's true nature. And he'll see it through his own eyes, not yours." Dean listened. He may not have liked hearing this, but he couldn't deny that his mother's worldly wisdom was most likely right. He would be a fool to ignore it. He nodded and took it on board.

Thankfully, Dean was spared thinking too much more on the topic, as he looked up and to his right to see Cas briskly walking back towards him. "Hey, find him?" Cas said, "No. Gabriel went ahead to scout. He should be back by now." No one got a chance to relax as Gabriel broke through some branches shouting 'ANGELS!'. Everyone responded with raising their weapons and prepared for the inevitable confrontation. It never came, as the group of angels were disintegrated and disappeared in a cloud of greyish black smoke. Everyone looked around and saw Lucifer standing smugly with his hand up. He had just destroyed the angels with a simple click of his fingers. Jack watched in awe. Dean not so much! He realised the devil was literally 'taking the piss' out of them by wearing the handcuffs. And as if he had just read Dean's mind, the cuffs literally melted off his wrists.

"Oh yeah, about the cuffs. I knew they wouldn't hold me in this world. Long story short, I didn't want your impotence to get awkward, so I just went along." Lucifer smiled and then said 'your welcome.' He looked to Jack who was smiling with what looked like pride. Dean looked on, with growing distrust and disgust. They needed to get away from this world and fast.

Thankfully, there was no further incidents on the road to Singers Salvage yard. As Dean and Sam took in the yard, both were a little creeped out by the sign. It brought back too many memories. Dean was remarking how it was 'no Sioux Falls' when Bobby joined their conversation. After a few light hearted remarks, Bobby cut right to the chase. "Anyhow it's good to see you boys again. I knew you couldn't stay away." Dean smiled, "yeah, you know where we can find Charlie… or Ketch? Bobby answered, "well, they aren't back yet. They got a tip on an angel kill squad looking to execute some resistance. They went to head them off at the pass." Dean did not like hearing the news that once again Charlie was putting her own safety directly on the line. His face said it all as he said, "you let Charlie got with Ketch?" Bobby knew what was going on. "She let ketch go with her, it's her operation." Dean had no other choice but to let it go and accept, he had no control over this and even less say.

Sam chose the moment to ask, "Bobby, we're going to have to hit the road soon. We're running out of time." Bobby knew what they were talking about. "Well about that, Mary said you want to take a bunch of our people back to this other earth." Dean agreed and then took a drink. Bobby continued, "well no offence, that may be the dumbest frickin idea in a landfill of dumb ideas." Dean couldn't argue with him. He hadn't been ecstatic about the idea, but if it got his mum and Jack to come home, he would invite half of the planet to come back through the doorway.

Michael's POV:

Michael looked out from the doorway of the mobile command centre (it was really a large tent, pitched in the centre of Heaven's latest earth HQ). He knew the clock was ticking and as he reached out with his mind, he sensed that his vessel was much closer to the portal. In fact, he had just reached the rebels main base camp. He smiled at this thought, because he had just learned news from his Lieutenant, Tobias, that the human Charlie and off worlder Ketch had just been captured. It was too late in many respects, but he couldn't help take satisfaction that these two particular 'thorns in his side' were about to be taken care off.

Sadly, as always he was pulled from his reflections as Raphael arrived. Michael was relieved that his brother's mission had gone off without any problems. It was at least one less thing for him to concern himself with. Though, he was in two minds to really care about this world, given that he would soon not be in it. But, he knew the information that Raphael had been tasked with obtaining was critical to his success in the other world. "Welcome back brother, I trust you were able to meet with our old friend 'Death'?" Raphael paused and then nodded.

It had been a risk to meet and share his intentions to go to another universe with the Angel of Death, especially as the angel had a big rule about the natural order and sending an archangel to another universe, was more than just tweaking in that said universe. No it had the major potential to rip the natural order up and change too much. Judging from the look on Raphael's face, Michael could tell that the discussion with this universes' version of Death had not gone any different. "Speak openly brother. I need to know the position as I'm sure I will have to face the other version of Death at some stage, especially as I have big plans."

"Hmmm….. (Raphael actually sighed!)…. It was as we expected Michael. The Horseman was not amused by this plan of yours. He was very adamant that we minimalise the contamination and send the off worlders back and seal off the rift from our end." Michael was not happy with the suggestion and Raphael could see this. " I know brother this is not what you want, but I can't help thinking that by sending the nephilim and Lucifer back through the portal, you will be getting rid of opponents. And with that the human resistance will crumble once and for all. You know, the humans are failing, it won't take long to finally crush the remaining insurgents and then we can rebuild."

"Stop Raphael!" Michael could not, no, he did not want to hear any more from his brother. "Just stop! I know it sounds like sense and I have always valued your advice on such matters but I do not fear the half breed and I can easily crush Lucifer. But take a look around this world. It's destroyed. Even if we win, we have lost. There's nothing to conquer, there's nothing left to build with. Humans are all but extinct and the natural world has been devastated." Michael did not want to admit that he was not a 'builder'. "Raphael, I am a soldier. I have always been a commander. War is what I do. And as I look out around this world, I realise that there's nothing left to conquer. You, brother, you are the builder and it is only right that it should be you to be the peacetime leader. You can rebuild this world, but this other world, has these abominations in it and father has given me the signs and mission to go there and cleanse it too. How can I ignore father's orders?"

"But Michael, Death was adamant that there are rules when it comes to other universes. That's why our father made it so difficult to cross realities. We can't ignore Death's warnings. Please brother stay here. I fear for you especially as you're going alone. At least take a battalion of angels with you." Michael seemed to think on Raphael's reasoning and words. "I don't fear Death's retribution and I don't fear the unknown. I will have my 'sword' and with that all the power that father had promised me. Yes, I will be breaking the rules, but father would not have sent these visions and sent my vessel to me, if he had not wished me to go down this path. I cannot ignore the wishes of my father or my destiny."

Raphael's face seemed to show unease, especially at the mention of the 'sword'. After a very long silent pause, Raphael decided to speak up. "Michael! You know you are my Commander and my friend. We have fought alongside each other for so long, I can't count. But I am concerned about your motivations, especially when it comes to your true vessel." Michael was furious. 'How dare he question my thinking and question father's orders. The presence of the vessel should only stand to make this more clearer that it is ordained by God and meant to be. Not the opposite.' Michael straightened his back and moved his hands to his side, and began to clench them, as if getting ready to attack.

"Apologies brother, you misunderstand. I mean no offence, but were your vessel is concerned, we should exercise extreme caution. We know he refused your other self in the other universe. We know that apocalypse failed to happen and as Lucifer has stated, it was due to both yours and Luci's vessels. The risk is too great. What if you can't get a yes and quickly, what will you do? What if the other universe is too different and the nephilim is too strong, what will happen to you? I just don't want the obsession with your vessel to cloud your military and strategic judgement. That's all I'm saying Michael."

Calming down, Michael understood where Raphael was coming from. He too, had given over considerable time to these thoughts, but he couldn't ignore the ache in his being. The emptiness and the need to have purpose. He raised his eyes and in a quiet voice shared his thoughts. "I understand your concerns and even your logic. The general in me looks at this and see's too many unknowns. I mean, who gives up nearly every tactical advantage and goes into enemy territory without better intelligence? But I can't ignore father's orders and I know Dean Winchester is stubborn but he is my sword and once harnessed, the power will be boundless. Surely you can see that? Surely you can understand it? If I stay here, I will go insane with boredom. I am a fighter and with my sword, I get the chance to do it right, not just for this world but for the other world. A world which is lost and has fallen so far, Lucifer runs freely and he's producing deadly offspring. I have my mission and I will have my sword!" Michael emphasised that this was the end of the debate by slamming both his fists on the makeshift table in front of them.

It was at that stage, that the seraph and heaven's Assistant Chief Interrogator, second only to Naomi had arrived. Michael and Raphael looked at one another and quietly acknowledged that the decision was made and the conversation over before allowing the angel to enter. Michael couldn't help but smile as he took in the angel in front of him. 'Who would have thought it, that in the other universe, there would be a rather annoying version of you running about with humans and openly rebelling against your kind.' Michael looked this universe's version of Castiel up and down. He tried to catalogue the differences in the two versions. Their vessel was the same, but that's where the similarities ended. "Ah! Castiel! Good of you to come. I have a rather special job for you to do. Sadly, it was time sensitive, but now, well…, not so much now. Buuutttt, still it would be useful for you to use your particular set of skills on two human prisoners that are being held off site. I need you to find out everything about the resistance and their plans and I need the information as quickly as possible." Castiel preened at the unusual compliments coming from Michael. He replied, "your order will be carried out without question Sir. Do you wish them completely broken and then destroyed or do you have any other plans for them?"

Michael thought on the question. There really wasn't any need to even interrogate them now, especially as the information would be useless in a day or so's time (according to the prophet). But, he couldn't help think on how much fun it would be for this Castiel to meet the other version. If anything, it may unsettle the rebels and off worlders some more. "Completely break them and do as you wish with them both. I don't see them having any further tactical use past the information they hold. Feel free to exterminate them." As Michael finished, Castiel saluted and turned to leave. "Oh Castiel, word to the wise, be quick. I would recommend to interrogate them this evening. I believe you will get the information you require." With Castiel's departure, Raphael couldn't help notice Michael's extra grin. "Why brother did you send him. You know we don't need the information. So why send him out to get ambushed?" Michael walked across the room and lifted a spare angel blade that had been sitting on a nearby desk. "mmmm, good question brother. We both know what will go down. The prophet showed it to me along with all other events. I don't want to change too much of the prophecy just in case it changes the overall outcome. And I can't think of anything more horrendous for the off worlders than having to kill another version of their friendly angel."

Both archangels spoke further about plans and the options in front of them and after a few hours Michael quietly said his goodbye to a handful of the trusted and vanished. But before going, he agreed to take a few angels with him. It was a small gesture to placate some of the concerns Raphael had been holding and he knew they would be useful in the other world.

Castiel's POV:

It was nothing short of pride that Castiel was feeling as he watched Dean, Sam and Mary propose the evacuation plan to the remaining human leaders. The angel had been surprised that his angelic classification had been so welcomed, considering what his kind had inflicted on the innocent human population. But here he was standing quietly off to the side as he watched the discussion unfold.

"Let me get this straight, you want us to follow you through a magic door that's going to blast us the hell out of here and into some type of fairytale world were everything's pretty?" Castiel nodded his head. That was a fair point. If he had been hearing this for the first time, he too would have been highly sceptical. He didn't place much hope that Sam and Dean's plan would be agreed. Sam's voice broke through his thoughts. "Ok, that's not exactly what I was trying to say…" Mary spoke up. "Andy, I get that you don't know my sons, but you do know me. Hear them out!" Castiel couldn't help but smile. Mary was a natural leader. He could see where her boys took their skills from, especially Dean.

"No one here is running out on our buddies, running out on the fight." Castiel breathed in. He knew from Dean's body language that the elder Winchester was fast becoming annoyed. In fact, Dean's unease and behaviour during this mission had been causing him concern. Cas had always known, that when it came to family, Dean had a shorter fuse and was more protective, but he couldn't shake the sense that there was something else worrying Dean. As to what that was, it could be anything. And as on cue, Dean did not disappoint. "No one's saying running out. Guys, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're losing. OK! You're outmanned, your outgunned…" Thankfully Sam broke his brother's tirade, before something really insulting was said. "my brother!... Back home we're sitting on the biggest collection of lore and weapons in our world. Now, something in there, might be enough to even the odds." Dean got with the script and added, " so, we find that and then we come back here with a plan, a plan to beat Michael and his armies and then you win!"

Castiel never really heard the rest of the conversation. He knew it probably concerned everyone talking it over and having a vote. The seraph was more concerned with something that had been playing on his mind, ever since they had arrived. It simply was, where was Michael? Michael had to have realised Lucifer was in this world never name why he hadn't felt his true vessel yet! So, why wasn't he using the forces of Heaven to break down the doors to this camp and smite everything in his way.

Castiel also couldn't get the conversation he had had with Lucifer a few months back out of his head. It was when the devil had just escaped from this world and found him. He had not missed the true fear that Lucifer had displayed when he spoke of Michael and of his plans to come to their world. Lucifer had mentioned how different his brother had been. Lucifer had been frightened and as far as Castiel could tell, the devil was very keen to get back through the rift and close off this world as quickly as possible. Armed with all these thoughts, Castiel's ears twitched when her heard Bobby mention that Charlie and Ketch's mission had went sideways and that they were being held captive. Sam asked, "where did they hear about this execution?" With this statement, Castiel knew his interrogation skills would be needed at some point and he was not wrong. Within 20 minutes, the informant was placed on the chair in front of Sam and Dean.

Being brave, the human asked what did they want from him. Dean took the lead in the interrogation. "We're thinking you did." Sam followed up, "did you tell Charlie and Ketch about the angel kill squad?" Castiel watched as the prisoner agreed and then stated that he didn't know what they were talking about when he was accused of setting them up. Cas didn't have to wait to long until he saw the signal from Dean to do his thing.

It had been so subtle, Dean had looked coldly at the suspect and then lifted his eyes. Cas moved behind the man and placed his hands on his head and started to probe. The pain sent screams through the human and with a simple move of his eyes again, Cas stopped. "Do you want to try that again?" It wasn't long after that, that the human broke and spilled everything about the set up. But Castiel still remained uneasy. His gut kept asking, 'why was Charlie and Ketch set up?' It was also unnerving to learn through the mind probe, that the man had been given the order via an angel who had stated the order had come straight from the top. That could only mean Michael had given the order himself. Cas could understand Charlie's importance, given her track record with the resistance, but Ketch should not even be on Michael's radar. Unless, he was. That thought struck Cas's heart. 'If Michael knows of Ketch he will know who came here with Ketch at the same time. So, he will know of Dean. But it still doesn't make sense. Knowing everything, why hasn't he made his move? What is he waiting on?'

As per usual, there was never any time to stop and think and before Cas could really mull this over, he was arming himself and preparing for a counter assault and rescue of Ketch and Charlie. To make matters worse, both Charlie and Ketch were being held within 30 minutes walk of the camp, which didn't make sense. High priority prisoners like these two would have been flown directly to Michael's base of operations. So why this easily infiltrated outpost?

Cas pushed these thoughts to the side as he marched alongside Dean, Sam, Jack and Mary. The plan was a simple one. Get in, confuse, disorientate and take out the enemy and then save the hostages and get out. Clean and clinical. So it was with some discomfort for Cas, when he witnessed the other version of himself sneak out the back door and towards the truck. Cas held back and let the others lead the rescue mission whilst he took out his other self. Being honest, it was incredibly unsettling to see this version of himself. Cas couldn't help wondering if this is what would have happened to him, if he hadn't met Dean?

With no time to dwell, he grabbed his doppleganger and turned him around. His other self was stunned. "More than one of us! Fascinating." Cas was disgusted at what his other self had become. "I've gotten used to it." Before disposing of his replica, Cas checked through his bond to Dean to see that everything was OK. He was relieved that there had been no human casualties and they were beginning to grab everyone and make a retreat. His other self said, "you align yourself with humans?" Cas didn't have to justify himself, but he felt he had to make the point to this fascist. "I vastly prefer them to angels." His remark with countered with "don't think you are better than me. We are the same." Cas had to agree with that remark. Both would do anything for their cause. They followed the orders they believed in. With a killing blow, he replied, "yes we are!" He watched as the other version of himself slid to the ground in a heap.

After that, it all happened so fast. Dean carried Ketch out of the cabin and he was swiftly followed by Sam, Mary and Charlie. They fled across the countryside, back towards the Salvage Yard. As they made their way back, Castiel had some time to think on all that he had experienced. It had unnerved him meeting the other version of himself. But if he was honest, that really wasn't what was bugging him and he knew it. He stopped and looked up to the sky and then took time to look around him. Dean and Ketch had stopped as well. Obviously Dean was concerned and whispered, "what is it Cas? Enemy?" Cas stopped Dean from going for his weapon. He shook his head. "No. No, it's nothing Dean. I'm just a little weirded out by killing myself back there and I'm a little worried that Michael will be pissed when he finds out. But ignore me, I'm imagining shadows were there aren't any. Let's keep moving." Dean and Ketch seemed to understand and started to move again.

It didn't take long until the reached base camp. They off loaded their weapons and debriefs all who needed to hear. Still feeling a little uneasy, Cas stepped back a little, trying to blend into his surroundings. He wanted to take time to survey the landscape. 'What was he missing?' Bobby's voice caught his attention. "Good work! We gotta win. We don't get many of those these days. Real proud of you boys. And I've got some news. We took a vote, see who was idjit enough to go off to this other world with you." Sam asked, "yeah, any takers?" Bobby smiled. "Everyone, me included. For whatever reason I've a real good feeling about you two."

Castiel was relieved. Finally they were leaving and it couldn't come a minute too soon. As Bobby moved of to start getting packed, Dean, Sam and Cas decided to discuss the next steps. Sam lead the conversation, "Dean, that's great, how the hell are we gonna do this? We only have a few hours left." Cas was real proud because he could tell that Dean's mind was already coming up with a plan and as he followed the hunters eyes, he also saw what the plan was. Dean shouted, "Bobby, tell me about that bus!"


	15. Chapter 15 - Mass Exodus

**Chapter 15: Mass Exodus**

Dean's POV:

From the moment the decision had been made the whole camp went into overload. It had taken Dean no time to work out all he needed to do was fix and use the bus as transport. He watched as people rushed to collect all their worldly belongs, everything they would need to be a refugee in a strange land. In fact, Dean was feeling quite overwhelmed. Neither Sam or he had really thought through the ramifications of their proposal when they had pitched it to Bobby's group. Dean had really only been concerned about getting his mum and Jack back home, but now, the reality of his actions was hitting home. So, when faced with such a huge challenge, Dean did what Dean does best. He focuses on something he can do, something using his hands. The bus could be fixed and he would fix it. He'd leave all the big stuff to others, perhaps to Sam or his mum to sort out.

So, Dean got to work on the engine of the bus. He was well aware that the clock was really up against them, but with a good engine and some luck they would make it. They had to. Fortunately, the engine just needed a minor tweaking and as Lucifer turned it over, the bus revved to life. Dean exhaled, relieved that the one thing he could do to help had been successful. With a single motion, he pulled the bonnet down and tapped the top of the hood. The hunter looked up and through the windscreen at the devil, who was now responsible for driving the bus. If he was honest, he was not entirely comfortable with this plan, but he had little options available. Fortunately, Gabriel decided to voice his concern. "You're going to let Lucifer drive? Dean sighed. "This way we know what's he doing and Cas can keep an eye on him. We're running out of time." With this, he looks again at his watch. It was going to be close.

As per usual, Sam was synchronised to Dean's thought patterns as he too decided it was time to remind them of the time. "Well guys, we're down to one hour 57 minutes." Both Dean and Gabriel agreed and walked off to get their stuff. As he lifted his back pack, Dean happened to glance around him, but after a while caught himself and give a quick shake out of his trance. Dean had been uncomfortable ever since his conversation with Cas. "Dammit Cas, now you've got me seeing shadows. Man. Lock it up Winchester, we've got a camp to save."

As he marched back towards the bus, he noticed that Sam was speaking with Lucifer and Jack. He hadn't caught much of the conversation, but he knew from the look on Sammy's face that it wasn't great. Lucifer was obviously playing mind games and had some sort of plan, but it would have to wait. Dean had to trust in his brother, that when the time came, Lucifer would not be coming home with everyone else.

Dean starts up the jeep and watches as Gabriel jumps into the seat behind him. Gabriel seems to notice Dean watching the interaction between Sam, Jack and Lucifer. He nudges Dean in the shoulder and says, "Deano. Don't rise to it. I know what you're thinking and I understand. Believe me, I understand. I've had to listen to Luci's propaganda and spin for the last 12 hours and to put your mind at ease, your not missing much from their little conversation. It's just much of the same bull shit Lucifer's been spewing out." Dean understood what Gabriel was saying, but he was very uncomfortable. "I know what you're saying Gabe. I know I shouldn't let him get to me, but I just can't stand by and listen to him pour poison into the kids' ear. It's as if he knows what buttons to push and it worries me how focused he is in getting to know Jack. I just want him as far as possible away from Jack and from the rest of us."

Gabriel placed his hand on Dean's shoulder again. "I know. I know. But don't let him win. Why don't you use the trip back to reconnect with Jack. He's a great kid and I know you haven't really spent a lot of time. Who knows, maybe the Winchester charm will counter Luci's poison!" Dean hmphed and shifted in his seat. Thankfully, whatever small crisis had been averted, because Sam and Jack were jumping into the jeep and Lucifer had returned to drive the bus. Dean didn't wait on ceremony and before the devil had got the bus out of neutral, Dean was pressing the gas pedal and driving off.

Unfortunately for Dean, any calmness and purpose he had soon disappeared. It vanished the moment he left the safe haven that had been the Salvage Yard. There was a long drive ahead of them and Dean couldn't help his thoughts as they returned to the conversation with Cas. 'For a little nerdy angel, Cas was incredibly perceptive. He had led armies in his day, so I would be foolish to ignore his advice.' But Cas's advice had scared Dean for a number of reasons. First, he was right, was this too easy? Being all powerful as Cas believed this Michael to be, why hadn't he made an appearance yet?

Secondly, given that they had learned that Michael had indeed ordered the capture and interrogation of Charlie, then why was she easy to rescue? In fact, with Lucifer's presence, why hadn't they been found and attacked? Instead, Michael had only sent a handful of angels and that was the extent of his involvement.

Thirdly, and perhaps the most uncomfortable for Dean to even think about, was how Michael had not felt a connection to Dean? This was his third time on this world, and not once had he stumbled into Michael. That in itself was unusual, given, his mother and Jack had gotten up close and personal with Michael during their stay at Michael's fortress. Part of Dean felt a little insulted. 'Surely, as your vessel, you would think I would warrant at least some airtime? Nothing, not even a quick fly by insult or threat! Son of a bitch!' Dean's self-loathing continued. 'Calm down Winchester! You know there's way to much bigger shit happening here. Michael is the supreme Commander of Heaven. He's not interested in mankind, never name one lousy and pathetic high school dropout. No, there are more important people to warrant his attention, than me!'

The last thought stumped Dean a bit. He could understand Michael having no interest in his vessel. After all, this universe was so different, but with Lucifer here, Jack here and even Gabriel here, why wasn't the archangel engaging? Cas was right, this didn't feel right. As the jeep went over a pothole, the bump jolted Dean out of his thoughts. He couldn't afford to think too much on Michael. He needed to remain focused on the mission. 'Stay alert Dean. Get them to the rift and safely home as promised. You've got less than an hour 30 minutes, you can do this. Put your foot down and get them there. All you need is a little more time so stop looking for Michael and see this as an opportunity. You don't want to meet Michael. Just get them home!'

For the remaining hour or so, there was very little chat in the jeep. Like Dean, everyone was thinking about the escape and praying they got to the portal before Michael and his armies showed up. So it was with great relief when Dean saw the smaller off road track up to the left. On making the turn, he chanced a look back to see if the bus was able to move on the dirt track. Thankfully, their luck was holding up.

Unfortunately for Dean, the closer they got to the portal, the more apprehensive and paranoid he started to feel. He was sure that he was being watched. Over the last few miles to the rift opening, Dean kept shifting his gaze from left to right in the off chance that he would catch a shape or movement. He shouldn't go looking for trouble, but his famous Winchester gut was telling him that something wasn't right. 'Focus man. Focus. Not far now. Keep it together. Bloody Cas and his concerns has you paranoid. Eyes on the prize, put your head down and keep grinding!' And with that thought, he did and before long, they came upon the portal.

Dean wasted no time. He had no sooner stopped the jeep before Sam was shouting, "it's closing!" Bobby was first out of the bus and he was yelling at everyone to quickly get out. Sam looked closer at the rift. It was clear to see that it was flickering and was close to closing. Sam shouted to the group to move fast. "We're running out of time, come on." Thankfully, luck was still on their side, as Dean watched the rift pulse stronger. His first thought was 'thank you Rowena.' It had to be the red headed witch's doing. He had to remember to thank her later.

As Sam pondered on how it was possible, Dean wasted little to no time lifting his stuff. He shouted over his shoulder, "Lucifer lets' go!" As Dean got closer, his nerves flared further. He was so close to getting home, they just needed a few more minutes. 'Please just a few more minutes, without Michael. We can do this. Come on.' Dean saw Cas moving with the group towards the portal. Eager to get as many through, Dean shouted, "Come on. Cas, show them how it's done!" As usual, the angel followed his orders and walked head down towards and through the rift. It didn't take long for the others to catch on and follow.

Dean began to count everyone going through. He was adamant that no one would be left behind, if he could help it. They had all come so far and many had survived an apocalypse, Dean was not going to let them down, not now. He watched as his mum and Bobby went through followed by Ketch and Charlie who couldn't help but send him her trademark 'see you on the other side bitches' comment. Dean couldn't help himself, but grin at that. But the moment was quickly replaced as Jack passed and Lucifer went to follow. Dean knew this was their chance to stop him from following. Thankfully Sam was way ahead of him on this.

Sam placed his large muscled arm in front of Lucifer, effectively stopping him from going any further. Unhappy Lucifer said, "I want to be with my son." Sam was smart, and as usual had been thinking about how he would do this. "We need you and Gabriel here just in case something goes wrong. Wasn't that the whole point of you being on the team?" Dean couldn't help but be proud of his baby bro. He got the impression, his brother had given that statement a lot of thought, most likely he had been cooking that retort up ever since the last conversation between Jack, Lucifer and Sam. Unfortunately for Dean, their luck was about to take a turn, and most likely not for the better as he began to hear a rumbling noise coming from somewhere above them.

Dean had a bad feeling, that his concerns were about to be answered. He looked up at the sky and watched as a fire ball came hurtling towards them.

Michael's POV:

Over the past few weeks, Michael had given this engagement a lot of thought. He considered a number of options that were available to him. Everything from staking out the portal and having a whole battalion of angels ready to capture everyone as they arrived right through to making a grand entrance with himself leading an army of angels just when they got there. In the end, he realised his father would not wish for such vanity and if he was honest, 'over kill'. He was not interested in the 30 or so humans who would escape. They were unimportant. He knew his mission and it was his mission alone. 'Besides, I don't need armies to defeat Lucifer.'

There were two rules Michael made himself keep before he engaged. The first concerned the half breed. In the prophets vision, it was clear he would not engage with Jack directly in this world, that would happen later. So he agreed that he couldn't engage until Lucifer's son had returned to his own world. The second, he promised himself. He would not acknowledge his vessel. This rule was critical. He knew it would be difficult, but for his plan to work, he must not show any interest in Dean Winchester at all. Any such recognition would endanger his plan and also the prophecy and that was too important.

So, it was with this thought, that he had used the last hour or so before his engagement to spend time in the presence of his vessel. Of course, he had to do this by stealth but it had worked well up until now, so Michael had no concern that he would be sensed now. But it was with interest that he realised that Castiel was beginning to grow suspicious, but it was his vessel's own thoughts that were of the greatest of interest to him.

The last few hours watching Dean Winchester had been enlightening. He had managed to niggle past defences and catch a glimpse into Dean's mind as he was driving towards the rift. He was impressed by the hunters natural instincts. He took note of these as he would need them for when they engaged directly with one another in the future. Dean may act like he is not smart, but he has a tactical and strategic mind and it would be too deadly to underestimate and ignore.

As the jeep came to a stop near the rift, Michael knew it was showtime. He waited until he felt the nephilim leave his world through the rift, before he decided to make his grand entrance and what an entrance it was. In the end, the archangel decided arriving by fireball and on his own would send a clear message to everyone that witnessed his arrival. He also deliberately aimed to land right in the middle of a number of helpless humans. This was useful as he managed to kill a few on his landing, but it also showed his power. Michael couldn't even resist flaring his impressive wings (though in shadow form) to the small group in front of him.

Michael walked with swagger and confidence towards the group. He took in everyone, and as his eyes scanned around, he tried not to focus too much on his vessel. Instead, he thought he would introduce himself, "Gentlemen." As predicted, his brother stepped up to challenge. Michael acknowledged him, "Lou. You don't really want to try this again, do you?" Gabriel, Dean and Sam watched as Lucifer separated himself from their group and moved towards his brother. "Emmm,, yeah." The only warning Michael had of the imminent attack, was Lucifer's eyes glowing red. He then watched as Lucifer put every ounce of his power behind an energy blast.

When it hit Michael, it managed to push him back a little, but as expected, Lucifer was no threat or match to him. He stagger a little, and then stood fully upright and hit with not one, but two power blasts. They had the required effect as Lucifer fell to the ground in agony. He chanced a quick look upwards and towards his vessel and could see the fear in both the Winchester brothers faces. He returned his gaze to Lucifer and smiled as he took in the blood running out of the side of his mouth. Lucifer hadn't much fight left in him.

With glee, he lifted his head and decided it was time to say hello to his other little brother, Gabriel. But in keeping with pretence, he pretended to acknowledge Gabriel as if it was the first time. Acting in shock and surprise he said, "can it be? Gabriel?" He knew what was about to happen. He had known for sometime both between the prophecy as well as observing his younger brother. Gabriel had come here to atone for something. It was in his eyes. It was in the way he carried himself. Michael was not surprised when the younger archangel looked at the humans and said, "Go! I can buy some time." It was almost touching to watch as his vessels little brother replied, "Don't!" Watching the drama unfold, Gabriel continued, "All I did on earth was run. I'm not running anymore. GO!". Michael watched as his little brother looked sadly at the two humans and the understanding they seemed to reach. He then observed the slow walk onto 'the field of battle.'

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael could see his vessel move closer to the portal, but fall short of going through. If he hadn't been about to murder one if not both of his brothers, he would have found this touching, that a human should care so much for his kind. On the other hand, Gabriel seemed to have to no reservations about trying to kill him. From a quick scan, Michael could see just how weak his little brother was. Proved right, by Gabriel's decision not to send a power blast, instead, to resort to hand to hand combat. It was clear from the unco-ordinated swings of his arms, that Gabriel did not have the same field experience and despite a few placed punches, Gabriel made his last mistake and paid for it with his life. As he plunged his archangel blade into Gabriel's chest, the younger brother screamed and Michael watches the grace burn out as he collapsed against him. Michael then smiled. That seemed to be the signal to both humans as one of them shouted, "Go. Go!" It was with sadness that Michael watched as his vessel slipped through the portal and once again was out of his reach.

As Michael rose to his feet, he noticed that the younger Winchester had not left yet. Flashbacks from the prophecy showed that everything was playing out as it should. Tempted as Michael was to push Lucifer and the human to the side, he knew that he needed to let this play out. So he decided to use this time to sort himself out as he watched the human betray Lucifer. As Lucifer staggered to his feet, he grabbed hold of Sam for help. "Sam, whatta you doing man, I'm hurt. Please!" The human's harsh words rang through the forest clearing, "How did you think this was gonna end?" With those words he pushed Lucifer to the ground and turned and went through the rift.

Acting on instinct alone, Michael ran towards the portal just as it closed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His frustration was real. This was no act. He knew what had been prophesized but he couldn't help be fearful that all of his work will have been for nothing if he can't make this deal work. And he had to make this deal work. Furious, he turned and his eyes fell on his brother. Lucifer looked up and started to panic. He knew that look did not bode well for him. Michael moved slowly towards him. "Well Luci, it seems as if it's just me and you now. I think its time we had a little chat don't you?"

Michael knew his brother too well. He had watched a lot of interactions between the other archangel and his son and he knew too well what he wanted. What he craved to get back to. But, like his vessel, Michael had to be careful about what buttons to press. If he pushed to far, to quick, Lucifer would realise his game plan and would either renegotiate or worse refuse point blank. That could not happen. Instead, Michael used silence and time as his tactic. He knew his brother was more scared for his own life, but still wanted to get to his son. So instead of going aggressive and getting all in his face, Michael stood silently glaring at him.

The tactic worked. Lucifer blinked first so to speak. Moving to cut a deal with Michael in exchange for both of them getting back to the other world. 'Bingo. There we go. Keep calm, let's get the finer points negotiated out first.' "Michael, it's a great deal. You know it is. I don't want the world, I just want to get to know my son. I promise, I'll take Jack and leave. I'll go to the furtherest, dullest corner of the universe and you'll never see us again. I swear to Father, you have my word." Michael was already thinking through all the loopholes to that statement and there were a few. He couldn't trust his brother, but sometimes you had to 'deal with the devil to get what you needed!'

Continuing the performance, Michael asked, "why should I trust you?" Lucifer raised his hands as if to prove his honesty. "I saw how they do the spell. I know what it takes, some blood, some fruit, a glowey rock and then… we step through, both of us…" Michael finishes the sentence for him, as he nods in agreement, "… and then?" Lucifer spoke, "… and then I get my son and you get….." Michael grinned when he finished, "… everything else!" Michael looked at the longing look on Lucifer's face. It was clear that the devil was weighing up the entire deal. He was struggling, but he knew he had no choice. They struck the deal.

Lucifer's POV:

The deal was not good, but it was his only chance of getting back to his son. Over the past few days, Lucifer had realised what his mission was now. The last few months he had been trying to find his purpose and his way. Now he had it, he had his son and that's all that matter. He just needed to get back to his world, reconnect with his son, take him away and build a true relationship, and through his experience and vision, both he and his son would build a better universe. 'Though, I will have to take care of big brother, but I get the feeling that with the right incentive and the right guidance, Jacki boy will be able to take any archangel out.' With that thought, Lucifer spent the next day overseeing the gathering of all the ingredients that were needed for the spell to work.

It was very obvious that his brother did not trust him. He could understand why, as he remembered all the past interactions between himself and Michael. He smiled as he thought about the many tricks he used to play both on him and on Gabriel. Those were better days, long before father created humans and long before Michael lost any sense of humour he ever had. Sadly, now when he looked at Michael he saw a different creature altogether. Especially this Michael. This one, was even more self-righteous, pious and zealous and seemed to be on a mission to create 'a better world', whatever the hell that meant. This Michael did not seem to realise that irrespective of which universe he existed in, their father had abandoned them and was not coming back. There was no destiny only what they made for themselves. A point he had repeated learned continuously over the past few days, but the message wasn't landing with big bro, In fact, this Michael scared him so much especially as he knew that look. Michael had a new mission and a new purpose, and Lucifer could only guess that whatever it was, was bigger than any apocalypse that he would have been involved in. This Michael had been there and done that and was eager to build something more. He had obviously learned from his mistakes but Lucifer couldn't help but fear what Michael's plans for his world are.

Irrespective of his thoughts, Lucifer continued to weigh up his options. He knew to defy Michael access to the other world would end in his death. But, to give Michael the 'keys to the kingdom' so to speak, would not end well. Lucifer knew, that as soon as he had completed his side of the bargain, there was a fair chance, he would be dead within minutes of getting back home. This possibility increased as he learned that he had been volunteered to be the donor of the archangel grace required for the spell. That meant he was going to be even weaker. He needed to be smart about this. He needed just one opportunity to get away. His brother may be more powerful, but he is not worldly wise about the other world, and this Lucifer would use to his advantage.

"Brother Michael, may I disturb you from your moment of reflection?" Lucifer grinned and he knew he was pushing his luck, but he needed Michael to relax around him and then he hoped that if Michael's guard was relaxed just a little, then there was the potential to escape. He would take any opportunity that would arise. Michael barked, "have you all the ingredients? Are we ready, because I grow uncertain that you're able to fulfil your end of the bargain, brother!" Lucifer knew his time was running out, he couldn't stall in this world, but when he had his brother separated on the other side, he could make a run for it. "I'm ready if you are big bro!" He looked around as he noticed that there were certain number of guards getting prepared to move as well. This was not good. It was just meant to be the two archangels, not a gang of Michael's groupies as well.

Remaining as calm as he could be, Lucifer inquired about the group of angels. "Not that it's a big thing, but Michael, can I ask, what's with the entourage? I thought it was just you and I walking out into the big wide open world on a mission. Now' we're bringing these guys. All due respect, but they're hardly going to make a difference bro. Just saying!" Michael's walk or was it a swagger seemed to tell him that he wasn't going to be able to manipulate the situation. "Just a little insurance brother. I'm keen to hit the ground running in the other world. And I don't want to have to worry about you running off and doing anything that would interfere with my plans, now would I?"

Lucifer smiled again. He used the conversation to begin to discuss what happens after they get to the other side. As much as he didn't want to stick around for whatever his brother was planning, he knew he needed to know what was going on, just in case, things didn't work out as he had planned. "Ahh the next steps. That would be important wouldn't it. I know brother what my plans are. They're pretty simple, me and my boy will just disappear off and leave you to it. But I'm curious, what are you going to do first? I've been out and moving around in that world. It's a big and complicated place. It's not going to be easy for you and a handful of angels to take it apart. Let's face it. You're good brother, but this is a whole new sandbox that you're planning to play in. So I'm curious."

He could tell Michael was tempted to share. His very hands were itching to move and be used to explain his grand plan, but Lucifer was concerned. His brother stood tight lipped. He smirked and then spoke, "Luci, Luci, Luci. As much as I would love to share my secret plan with you, we both know what you're up to. But since, you've asked so nicely, I think I'll share just a little tip-bit with you. You see, when we get to the other universe. I need you to take your son and go immediately. Don't look back and don't hang around. It's simple. Your role is to take the nephilim off the board and disappear." Lucifer was intrigued. "Why brother?" He could tell Michael wasn't comfortable, sharing whatever his full plan was. He had hit a nerve, so he pressed further. After a few minutes, Michael relented. "Emm… I need you to take him out of the running, as I need to make sure there's no witnesses to my arrival. And also, one thing, I learned from you brother. It is unwise to underestimate those humans. It's time I took a few key players off the board!" Lucifer observed the grin that appeared on Michael's face. The look told him, Michael was thinking about something or perhaps someone specifically.

He wasn't sure, but he believed Michael was going to deal with the Winchesters once and for all. 'That makes sense. That's why he needs Jack out of the picture, as there's not way my boy would stand for letting that happen. Unfortunately, but give him a few years with me and he'll come round to my way of thinking.' As he watched Michael he recognised the determination. He almost felt sorry for the Winchesters, but there was a little bit that wishes he could hang around to see the two large piles of flannel be disintegrated or worse.

Within an hour everything was ready. They had deliberately chosen a different location. Lucifer knew it would spit them out probably nowhere near where the Winchester's bunker was. That was a good thing as he needed time to recover. He looked up to see that thankfully Michael had decided to only bring two extra angels with him, Uriel and Tobias. Neither of them were powerful enough to pose a real threat, but they were both loyal to Michael and that would be a problem, but he was sure he could find a role for them. "Ready as I'll ever be. Just get this over with, so we can get there." Lucifer knew this was were things could go most wrong for him, that's why he deliberately made sure he and he alone knew the incantation. He handed over a vial of his grace. He was physically weakened, but he knew that he would eventually recover. He just needed time. In a matter of seconds, the rift was open and Michael, Lucifer and two more angels passed through.

On arrival, Lucifer looked back at the rift, he wondered how many more would come through? How many would leave that barren world and come here? He sent up a silent prayer to his father and hoped that Michael, the two angels and himself would be the only ones. He prayed and held his breath, that his brother would not move against him so quickly.


	16. Chpt 16 - The good times are here again

**Chapter 16: The good times are here again**

 _ **Current day….**_

Michael's POV:

Lucifer was right about one think, travelling through time and space from one universe to another really did a number on the angelic body. As much as Michael would deny it, he did feel considerably weaker than normal, but he was thankful as he took in the dishevelled and exhausted demeanour of his little brother, never name the staggers of both Uriel and Tobias. Thankfully, being the strongest and oldest archangel had its perks and one of those perks was he was quick to heal. Within an hour of arriving, Michael felt he was working at least at 90% full power.

In that first hour, Michael had learned that the rift had spat them out a mere 100 miles or so from Lebanon, Kansas. This worked well, as he needed some time and space to regroup and work out what needed to happen first. Before coming to this world, Michael had little to no trust of Lucifer, but his behaviour since arriving only fuelled this distrust even more. Michael had watched as the devil had tried at least twice to distract and escape, but Michael had taken the opportunity to remind him of who was the 'boss'!

As Lucifer limped across the room, Michael pulled out a seat and gestured to his brother to sit down. It was time to have the chat about what happens next. "Right Lucifer. You've proved to me that it was the right decision to let you live. You got us here but that was the easy bit. Now, you need to deliver on the nephilim. So tell me, what is the plan?" Michael looked straight into Lucifer's eyes. He was leaving no room for bullshit. He needed the half breed out of the picture. Then and only then could Michael move on the Winchesters and their traitor angel, Castiel.

"Ahhhh, yeahhhh, about that. It's complicated. Butttt…." Michael was not liking what he was hearing and seeing, so he moved quickly and grabbed his brother by the shirt and jacket and lifted him about 2 feet of the ground. "Now Lucifer, that was not the agreement. You give me the impression that you had your son eating out of your hand. Please don't tell me that you exaggerated." Lucifer was clearly panicking that this was it. "Wait, wait, wait. I swear big bro. It's complicated, BUT not impossible!" Michael stopped and dropped the devil. He smirked as he watched his weaker than usual little brother land like a sack of potatoes on the floor. "Well? Can you dispense with the drama and explain."

Lucifer dusted himself down and got to his feet. He glared at Uriel and Tobias who were taking great pleasure in seeing their Commander throw his 'weight around' as he shook the devil like a rag doll. "It's clear that patience Mikey was never your strong point. No… No…. Noooooo. NO! Don't hit me and certainly don't shake me again. I know you're eager to get out there and just hit the ground running. And do your thing, whatever it may be! But, when it comes to humans and to my son specifically, grandstanding and rushing in there like a bull in a china shop is NOT going to get out of the road." Michael snorted. "Oh really, and you, Lucifer, are such an expert on all things human. Remind me brother, just how long you've been a father, never name got on well with your son?" After hearing his words, the smile slightly faltered on Lucifer's face, but only for a few seconds. Then he grinned so widely and laughed. Michael watched on. He was confused, at what his younger brother could possibly find so funny in that insult.

Shaking his head, Lucifer said, "oh Michael, sadly, you understand humans less than I do, but every now and again, say at least once in 10,000 years you actually get creative!" Now Michael wasn't just confused, he was annoyed. Snarling he edged close. Lucifer stepped further back. "Now now now, bro, take it as a compliment, because you give me the idea….. But before I execute the plan, I… sorry, WE, need to do a little detective work first. Nothing too laborious. We just need to check out the bunker and see what's the best way of getting me.. I mean US past all that pesky warding and stuff!"

"And?" Michael had hoped for the unveiling of a master plan, instead, he had been provided with a reconnaissance mission instead. "And what, Oh, you're right. You want to know what happens after we check out the bunker. You want to know how I'm going to drag this troublesome opponent off the 'playing board' don' t you?" Michael growled. "I'll take that as a yes. Welllllll, OK. You see Mikey, Jackie boy may be all powerful, but he is still just a little kid. A special kid yes, but a kid all of the same. And one, who really wants to fit in, find his way, connect. And to do that he really needs someone that knows him, understands him and can mould him. Who better than his 'old man'? I know, I may not have been father of the year, but you know me brother, you know that I am the best of all of us when it comes to manipulating humans to get what I want. Annnndddd, he's 50% human. Leave Jack to me, when the time comes, I know what to say. Trust me, I didn't spend nearly two days with the kid, and not work out what makes him tick!"

Michael seemed to take in Lucifer and believed that the devil could do this. "So, we need to check out this bunker? And that's were all the hunters and the angel will be? Michael kept his facial expressions clear and calm. He didn't want to show any emotion other than a clear determination to take out his enemies. "Good. Good. Uriel! Tobias!" As Michael shouted for his two guards Lucifer got ready to leave. "Make sure my brother is supported and protected whilst he's trying to work out the warding. After all, we wouldn't want ANYTHING to happen to him now, would we?" Lucifer turned at this, "What now? Are you not coming with me? I thought you were keen.. you know to…. to get this 'show on the road!'" Michael just smiled. "I am. Oh Lucifer, I am, but I have something to do first and we've got some time. So just recon now and come STRAIGHT back." Everyone nodded and in a blink of an eye Lucifer and the two angels disappeared, leaving Michael to get on with his other arrangements.

LUCIFER'S POV:

"Just perfect. Bloody perfect!" Frustrated at his entire situation, Lucifer took the opportunity to vent some of it now. Of all the scenarios he imagined, he did not even comprehend he would be creeping around the middle of the woods, next door to the arsehole of the universe, that was Lebanon, Kansas. Right here in good old U.S of AAAAA! To make matters worse, it was raining. Though, normally a little bit of rain didn't really annoy him, but as he was still recovering from the journey back, this was just one more reminder of how close he was to being human, 'AGAIN!'

"What now, SIR!" Uriel had practically spat out the 'sir'. It was clear to the devil, that this particular seraph was just as annoyed to be stuck in this less than exciting mission. "Ohhh, nothing Uriel. It's Uriel, isn't it?" He knew this would get the much needed rise out of the rather grumpy angel. He continued, "it's just all Michael's minions look alike. It's hard to tell one from the other, even when you're in a vessel. I'm afraid, our father ran out of ideas after he blew the creative mother load on us archangels. So sorry about that by the way, buttttt, at least you've got your personality." With that, his face cracked the biggest and most annoying smile he could. Anything to piss off his 'babysitters'. 'oh, if only I was running on full power, I would really like to pulverise you two lugheads into dust.' With that thought, Lucifer smirked, but Uriel seemed to realise the poor attempt by Lucifer to not answer the question.

"I asked, what is the problem, Lucifer?" Whilst speaking louder than required, but still as low as they could, to avoid detection, Uriel had moved closer to the archangel and seemed to be using his rather larger 6 foot, 8 human vessel to somehow try and intimidate the devil. Recognising the posturing for what it was, Lucifer thought he could use this. "Ahhh, nothing much. ….. Well….. it's just those pesky little humans have the place well warded. You would think they didn't like archangels are something?! It's going to take some time for me to break them down…. you know…. What with not having my powers and being so weak… I'm almost as powerful as you Uri!" As expected, that comment was followed by what sounded like a constipated growl and then a huff as the seraph refrained from pummelling the archangel.

Lucifer waited a little longer, mumbling some incantations under his breath. The other angel, Tobias, edged closer. He seemed keen to learn something. "Lord Lucifer, I'm curious, what are you doing?" The younger and less dominant angel, smiled a little at him and then lower his head. "Ahh, Tobias, isn't it? That's a good question. You're wondering why I don't just smash my way through it aren't you? Well, I normally wouldn't think twice about just walking straight in and lifting what I came for, but you see, unlike my older brother, I have been up against these hunters before, and I learned one thing, and one thing only, never and I mean NEVER underestimate them. Yes, yes, I know they're just human. And that they are, BUT, these particular humans took this universes' Michael and turned him into a drooling mess who rocks in the corner of the cage. Soooooo, now that we've got the element of surprise, I for one, would like to keep that for as long as possible."

Lucifer's monologue was interrupted by Uriel. "Ignore him Tobias. Commander told us to not listen to him. You would do best to obey Michael. He may not be our Lucifer, but he is still this universe's Lucifer and this serpent will deceive you with his words and when the time comes, he will think nothing of destroying you. He is the defiler and the fallen. Never forget that." The archangel laughed at the pious and self righteous speech from the puffed up seraph. "Oh Uri, Uri, Uri. Do you want to know why I'm laughing at you?" Uriel was angry. He should know better than to be sucked into the devil's game, but he had to ask, "no but I'm sure the lies will be worth a quick listen to".

"Ohhhh, not so much lies. Why lie Uriel when on this occasion, the truth is so much sweeter." As if relishing in the scene, Lucifer turned towards Tobias. "You know why I'm laughing Toby. You see, our friend here he gets on as if he's so righteous. Almost proud, wouldn't you say? And that last time I checked that was a sin. And you should be weary of this one if I were you Toby." Lucifer stepped back from both angels as he saw Uriel begin to get angry. So raising his hands in a non threatening way he continued, " I mean, it wasn't even a decade ago in this universe that the Uriel in this universe served me. Yes, you heard right Tobias. He served me. Me and old Uri were the best of buddies. In fact, Uriel helped to set up a few innocent angels as well as break a few seals for me. But, you don't have to believe me."

Uriel was furious. He couldn't comprehend ever falling so low as to walk alongside the fallen one. Lucifer could see this was getting to the angel. It was working well, but now to switch it again. "Oh, Uriel, there's not need to worry, that won't happen to you, I can assure you, you see, you walked this world with your Michael and he did… well… he did so much worse, didn't he? Not that I'm slagging him in anyway, it's just…. Father's favourites didn't fair too well out of your apocalypse now, did they? But, never mind, that's all water under the bridge and I'm sure you're a good loyal and eager to please soldier Uriel, aren't you?" As Uriel shifted to answer, Lucifer took the opportunity of movement coming from 40 yards to his left to stop the angel in his tracks.

"Shhssh…. I hear someone coming." With that statement, Lucifer gently pushed the angels off to the right and they waited as a young human female seemed to be out on her own. As he stared closer, the archangel recognised that it was one of the human survivors from the other world, Maggie or something. He turned to the two angels and indicated to them to be quiet and let him handle the situation. Without over thinking it, he ruffled his hands through his hair and staggered through a bush and collapsed in front of the human.

As expected, Maggie had been confused at first. She had been out after dark, and had not expected to run into anyone never name the devil. It seemed to take a few minutes for her to realise who it really was but before she had a chance to really scream for help, Lucifer took the opportunity to gain some relief from all the frustration he had built up. He had felt powerless due to Michael. He had felt angry to have lost his son and he had felt betrayed by Sam and this was the first time since leaving the other universe that he had the chance to vent. So vent he did. Poor Maggie had no chance as he channelled his fury and rage into his fists and kept hitting. After a few minutes he smiled. "You can come out now boys. The big human female threat has gone now!"

A look passed between Uriel and Tobias as they took in the scene before them. They were not upset that an innocent had died, but more at the inconvenience of the body. Sighing, Uriel barked out, "Really, are you sure she's dead? You don't want to hit her a few more thousand times just to make sure? Great, now we have to clean this mess up." As Tobias moved towards the body, Lucifer placed a hand on the angels' chest. "No don't. Leave her there." Both angels said, "what?!" Lucifer continued, "you have much to learn about this universe. Humans here are not as 'hard' as they are in the other universe. Here, they're softer. They seem to care and trust me, when they find this lovely little girl dead here, even these humans will be on edge but they won't know who did it, so we still have the advantage. Now, let's get back to big brother here shall we?"

And with a flutter of three sets of angel wings, the three celestial beings vanished, leaving the body of an innocent to lie for most of the night until she would be found the next day.

Sam's POV:

Just around the time that Lucifer and the angels had parted ways from Michael to look at the bunkers warding, Sam was preparing to give a 'quick and dirty' run down on the 'world around us'.

It has been literally only a few days since they had successfully rescued their mum, Jack and so many more off worlders, but it felt longer to Sam. The bunker was so busy now. It was good but it was also unnerving. There were so many people, most of whom were strangers to both Dean and him. He was even struggling a bit with his mum. He loved her, but it had been a year and before that, he had just started to get to know her. So, as he gathered his cuttings and images he took a quick 'time out' to reflect on what had transpired over the past few days.

His eyes widened as his brain waded through the images and weighed things up. 'Everything has changed. The weight that is Lucifer has gone. He's gone, left behind in that other barren rock to fester. I survived the fucker! I won, no, we won. Dean, Cas, Jack and I. We won. We beat Michael and Lucifer. We saved mum, Ketch, Charlie, Bobby and so many more. Gabe…. Gabriel, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. You saved us, me and Dean. You stood up to your brothers and though you didn't always do the right thing. You did the right thing, when it counted and you didn't deserve to die. Not like that and what hurts is, we can't bring your body home and give you a hunter and hero's burial.' Sam was knocked out of his reverie by a noise at the door as Bobby quietly spoke through the door, "Sam, you in there? Sorry to interrupt, but everyone's ready for the tutorial." Sam acknowledged and said he would 'be right there'. He turned and took a few minutes to compose himself. The room may have many familiar faces, but they were mostly strangers and he needed to be strong. He wiped the few tears that had managed to escape from his eyes and he opened and walked through the door.

As he walked through the corridors, he passed Dean's room. He began to knock when he realised that Dean was out with Cas and Jack staking out a possible case. 'Oh how things had changed. Who knows, with Jack, all these extra hunters, no Lucifer and no leader in Hell, things could change. Maybe I will get a chance to take a break for once.' Smiling at that thought, he continued on towards the centre of the bunker, to the map room. 'Wouldn't that be nice. Dean, Cas and I getting a way from it. Relaxing and thinking about doing something else or even slowing down. Heaven knows too well, we've earned it and then some. Especially Dean. He looks tired. He needs a break. This year has been so hard on him, between losing Cas and mum like that. We deserve a rest.' Sam stopped himself. He didn't want to go too far 'down that road' because it had been a dream so long ago and it hurt too much to dream like that. 'One step at a time Winchester. One at a time. Today, let's get some people orientated into this world first and take it from there.'

Sam couldn't help himself. The 'tutorial on all things this world' really reminded him of his love for teaching. He went through the images and took some time to share the information in a clear but light hearted way. In recapping, "the ice caps are melting. People marching. Little bit of craziness in the movie world. Business man and billionaire mogul turned President, embroiled in another controversy and that pretty much is the world. Our world, right now." As he finished, he knew there was going to be some witty remark and as usual, Bobby did not fail to rise to the challenge. "Let me get this right. The ice caps are melting, a movie where a woman goes all the way with a fish wins best picture, and that damn fool idjit from the apprentice is President." Sam couldn't help but laugh and agreed. "and, you call were we come from apocalypse world?" Bobby had a point. Sam agreed and smiled. He was happy and at peace. All seemed to be right with the world and as he laughed, his phone rang.

Excusing himself, Sam moved off to the side to answer. As the rest of the survivors talked amongst themselves and discussed their new world, Sam heard Dean's words, "Sam! Got something!". With those familiar words, Sam acknowledged, "alright, I'm on my way." As he hung up, he couldn't help sense, that change was coming and coming soon. He sighed and tried not to get too far ahead of himself.

Michael's POV:

Despite not being human, the past few days had been a roller coaster of emotions for Michael. Ever since he had struck the deal with Lucifer, he had been trying so hard to reign in his 'feelings.' But of course, as the oldest archangel, he did not have anything as pathetic as 'emotions or feelings'. Though, try as he might, his entire being was buzzing and it was far worse now that they had arrived on this new world. This alive, vibrant and beautiful world. It was everything he imagined and much more. He couldn't contain himself. It took everything he had to hold back from running out and announcing to this world he was here. But Michael, being Michael pushed all of this down. He had to. There was just so much to do and it all would be done in the right order.

As he left his brother and the two seraphs to work on breaking down the bunker's warding or whatever bullcrap of an angle Lucifer was working on, he had used the opportunity to go and identify a safe place, a headquarters as such. A place he could come to when he had his vessel and needed to regroup and begin to plan his takeover. As he searched out the ideal place, it didn't take him long to identify his new 'fortress'. Unlike his last one, this one was a large country house estate in the middle of nowhere about four states away from Kansas. In the blink of an eye Michael had landed in his new home and had spent little to no time persuading its current residents to either serve him or die. With that first item ticked off his 'to do' list, Michael turned his attention to the most important thing and that was his vessel.

Ever since his arrival, Michael hadn't just been buzzing, his entire angelic core had been simply on fire. The sensations he had felt when Dean had journeyed to his universe were now multiplied in strength and were impacting significantly on his essence. He couldn't believe how powerful his vessel's soul actually was. Somehow, travel to the other world had 'muted' the power emanating from Dean's soul. But this universe, held no such barriers and Michael had felt both the connection and the power immediately after he had stepped across the rift into this world. It was all he could do, not to rush straight to 'his human' immediately and take what was his. All that had stopped him was his need for that small but very critical little word that he required from his 'sword'. So, Michael schooled his features, because he knew that a few things had to be in place before his vision of Dean saying yes would become a reality. He would be patient. He had to be patient.

Vibrating with the power coming off Dean's soul, Michael had a choice. Either go find Lucifer or burn a few hours with his vessel (and get a great buzz from him), the decision wasn't difficult. With a thought, Michael took off and sought out his vessel. It didn't take long to locate him. He found Dean close to the half breed and the traitor. His 'swords' brother had just arrived as Michael did. Michael chose to keep hidden, believing it would be good to observe the enemy's strengths and weaknesses first hand. Michael may be impatient from time to time, but his vision had been clear, he would obtain that all important yes, but not until the half breed was gone. Unfortunately for Michael, his vision had not been specific with many of the details, so he was having to be very careful about what choices he made, as he needed to ensure the same choices led him straight to the 'yes' he needed. So, he would have to behave himself and watch and wait and so he did.

Looking around at his surroundings, Michael sensed that close by was a number of werewolves. 'So that's what the hunt was. Interesting!' Dean spoke, "alright, the gang's all here." Michael could tell that Dean was the physical brother. The one who did all the 'heavy lifting, all the hard fighting.' His brother, Sam seemed to be the academic, the researcher. The smart one! Sam asked how many were inside and the traitor angel concentrated. "Wait, I can hear three maybe four. They're talking about whether Kylie Jenner would make a good mother." The angel looked confused, "the consensus is no." Michael watched as Dean began to take out his gun from his back. "ahh, well, that's why I'm a Chloe man!" Michael watched like he was in a trance, as Dean checked and removed his clip. "Alright, we're talking werewolves, which means?" The half breed, Jack answered with a smile, "silver bullets." Dean nodded, "that's right. So you know the play. Let's go to it."

Michael took in their movements as Dean headed off first towards the boathouse and towards the werewolves. Michael was impressed by the nephilim's power. The take down had been quick and clean as the werewolves were held by Jack's power whilst the hunters shot silver bullets into each of the monsters. By the end, the bodies collapsed to the ground and Michael realised exactly how powerful his nephew really was and he feared him. 'Lucifer, you better come through.' It was clear to Michael, killing Lucifer at the moment wasn't an option, he really needed his brother to neutralise the nephilim. He was not happy with this, but this demonstration of power made it clear, Jack was very powerful, perhaps more powerful than Michael. He couldn't take the risk. 'The half breed, has to go!'

Lucifer's POV:

Sadly, the 'rush' Lucifer had been feeling from his recent killing of the human, Maggie, had passed. And after the 'high' inevitably came the low. And the low was bad. Lucifer had some time to think whilst he waited for his brother, and possibly his death. He knew that once Michael got back, he was on borrowed time. Michael had no real use for him now that he had given him access to this world. Filled with such thoughts, Lucifer found himself pacing back and forth within the room. He decided blind resignation to death wasn't an option, so he used the time thinking about what options there were. 'The issue is power. I'm not powerful enough, even when I'm running at 100%. I need more juice. I need…. I need…. Jack! Of course, I need the boy, but he's got too much humanity and too much conscience and soul. It's going to take too long to squeeze that out of his thinking. Time I don't have. Time. Yesssssss. I need time, so make some. I need some more power, so let's get me some then.'

Lucifer stopped pacing and looked around. It was then that he realised that he had two walking, talking power batteries. He remembered how he had recharged the last time. He knew it wouldn't be enough, but it would give him enough energy to get his son away from those Winchesters and that bloody angel. Enough time to work his charm. Manipulated correctly, he could control Jack and take out Michael and from there, the universe was his for the taking. As Lucifer worked out some of the details he decided the first thing was to get some power. He knew he needed to take out Uriel first. He was the most aggressive and the most powerful of the two seraphs. He was also the quickest to anger. So with little to no effort, Uriel was worked up within minutes of entering the room and with a quick swish of his archangel blade, he had harvested Uriel's grace. Uriel was shocked as Lucifer finished him off with a stab to the chest.

As Uriel fell, Tobias rushed into the room and was met with two red glowing eyes. His mouth fell open as it dawned on him that he was facing a much more powerful archangel. Fortunately for Tobias, he had little time to be afraid as the same blade slide across his neck and he watched in horror as his grace was stolen. Lucifer smiled but there was a touch of sadness. "I'm sorry brother. But this universe has so few angels and I need to survive. I must survive, for my son but most of all, for me!" As he utter the last work, Lucifer slowly slide the blade deep into Tobias. "Thank you brothers. Thank you very much and now Jack, it's time we had a family reunion." Lucifer spread his wings and vanished.

Michael's POV:

As much as he enjoyed the sensation of being close to his vessel, Michael knew he had been gone way too long. It was never a good idea to leave Lucifer alone, especially as he still needed his brother. But, when he arrived back at their base of operations, he immediately knew something had happened, as he could feel nothing. No angelic presence, just emptiness. Furious, he took in the scene before him. Dumped where they died, Michael did not miss the healed neck wounds and he knew his brother had cannibalised his two angels and all to grab some power. Cursing silently under his breath, he tried to feel out his brother. 'Damnit Lucifer, where the hell would you go?' As quickly as he had asked his question, he had his answer. 'Of course, you'll go for your son, grab him and use him. But I have eyes too brother, and I know you will need time with the child, if you're going to use him to achieve what you want to do. I have time.'

Michael looked down at the floor at his two guards. He sighed, though not because they had died, but more at the inconvenience as he had no lackeys to do his 'leg work.' Equally, he was now alone in this alien universe. Feeling a little vulnerable, Michael chose to stay close to his prize – his vessel and with a mere thought he had transported himself to the bunker, but no further could he go and that pissed him off completely.

All he could do was wait. Wait until his brother made the next move and took the nephilim off the board.

Dean's POV:

"The kid did great." Dean was brimming with pride. Sam seemed to agree. "No kidding!" Dean could see so many possibilities. "He keeps this up and…" As if eager to hear more Sam said, "and what?" Dean continued, "… I don't know. Hey you remember…. remember when you asked if we could stop it. All the evil in the world?" Sam nodded, "yeah." Dean seemed to be processing something important, "if we could…. Really change things. Maybe with Jack we can." Sam thought further on it, "maybe you're right." Dean suppressed any excitement he had. As much as he had dreamed of this, all the crap that had been thrown at them, made it very clear to him, that this it for him. This was his life and he would die bloody on the job. That's all he had ever imagined, so to be faced with such an opportunity of retiring was almost too much to think about. Almost!

"Mmmmmm, yeah". He smiled and looked down at his bottle of beer and thought, 'good times!' "This, a whole lot of this, but on a beach somewhere…. You imagine, you, me and Cas… toes in the sand…. Little umbrella drinks, matching Hawaiian shirts… obviously! Hula girls." Sam snorted again as he too, imagined life after hunting. "You! Talking about retiring? You?" Sam was slightly shocked at the turn of events. Dean contemplated his answer. He was tired. Tired of all of it. His entire life had been about sacrificing himself – his childhood, even his soul and all for others. 'Hadn't he given enough?' "If I knew the world was safe. Hell yeah! You know why? Because we frickin' earned it man." Dean was serious about it all. As both brothers nodded and agreed and lifted his beer, Sam said, "I'll drink to that."

As Dean added "yeah", Dean turned round and muttered, 'hell yeah' and began to move to opening his door when he heard Jack shout 'stop' and it was followed by unhappy grunting sounds coming from Jack's room. Dean knew those sounds only too well. How many years had he suffered from the many nightmares that had plagued him. He knew how the ghosts of those he couldn't save haunted his subconscious. He opened the door to hear Jack shout "no!"

Dean approached slowly, "Jack. Whooowwwww whowwwwwwwwwwwww. Easy….. Just having a bad dream." As Dean's words tried to soothe a scared Jack, the nephilim sat up in his bed. As Jack caught his breath he said 'sorry'. Dean stood beside the bed looking down. "You don't need to apologise. I have them too, all the time." Jack looked a little relieved when he said that. "You do?" Dean began to get a little nervous. This was getting close to 'chick flick' territory for him so he began to shift from one foot to the other, but Jack kept going. "What do you… what do you see?" Dean really didn't want to over share but he had made a promise to Sam that he was going to try and be more father like to Jack. It was clear the young man looked up to them all and Dean needed to step up, like he had for Sam. "Well, it depends… mostly… mostly people I couldn't save." Dean hoped that was enough of an explanation that was required. Jack continued to look up to him. He seemed to understand what Dean was saying. "Me too. Over there, in the other world. I said, I'd protect those people. But,… I saw so many of them die… and I tried to save them. I tried!" As Jack spoke Dean could clearly see the boy relieve various images in his mind. Jack continued, "I wasn't strong enough!"

Dean sighed. This 'song' he knew only too well. He moved to sit down on the bed. "Jack… It's not about being strong. I mean…. I don't know what you saw over there. I don't know what you went through. I know it was bad. But I also know you came out the other side because you are strong. But even when we're strong. Man… things are gonna happen. We've made mistakes. Nobody's perfect. Right? But we can get better. Every day, we can get better. So whatever you're dealing with, whatever… whatever comes at us, we'll figure out a way to deal with it… together. You're family kid. And we look after our own." Dean stopped. His speech was done. The message seemed to get across to Jack as he nodded. Sadly, just as Dean had seemed 'to put out one fire, another had started.' Sam chose that time to run into Jack's room. "Dean!" Dean knew somehow the proverbial 'the first shoe was about to drop' as Sam clutched his phone. Afraid to ask, but knowing he had to, Dean turned and spoke, "What's wrong?"

Michael's POV:

Thankfully the archangel didn't have to wait too long. Michael had not been happy that access to the bunker had not been granted, but he knew that with a little direct pressure, he could get through it. The problem was it would announce his arrival and it he was aware that the nephilim was still sleeping within the building.

Whilst he considered his next steps he could hear a commotion nearby. He decided there was 'luck in leisure' and decided to hold off on breaking down the door, 'perhaps Dean will come to me.' He appeared close by to see Mary Winchester and one of the rebel leaders, discuss what had happened to the young human girl that was currently lying with her brain bashed in. He smirked when he realised that this was his brothers work. He knew he should have been angry. Lucifer was only meant to observe, but he should have known his bloody thirsty, human hating brother couldn't help himself. Mary stopped speaking to someone on her mobile phone. "That was Sam, he, Dean and Jack are on their way out to us. There's nothing we can do, 'cept check out the immediate area to see if there's any clues. What do you think did this?" The man, Bobby, seemed to scour the area for clues. Michael raised his head and turned to see that Jack, Sam and his vessel had arrived.

Michael took in the scene. All the humans seemed to be staring down at the girl. As he watched he couldn't help think. 'I'm so close now. I wonder what you would do if I just appeared? Mmmm. Tempting as it is, no good would come of this now. I need you desperate not angry and I can feel your soul pulsing with anger. No. No, this won't do.' Michael calmed his thoughts. As much as he wanted to engage with the group, he knew that this was still not the time, but it would be soon. Looking now at the nephilim, he seethed. 'Why on earth can't you just leave? Lucifer, we had a deal, so why aren't you here now working on the boy. He needs to go and go soon.' As his anger built again, he emitted out his emotions, just as he had done countless times on his own universe and just like then the result was the same. Lightening and thunder could be seen and heard in the distance. Smirking to himself, he realised what he had done. 'I really need to curb my wrath a little'

Michael was so taken up with his own feelings that he almost missed the half breed speak. "I.. I said I'd protect her!" Jack was clearly upset, sad, and as Michael observed further, was there even guilt there. 'Interesting!' The younger brother, Sam spoke up. "Stop Jack! This isn't your fault." His vessel, ever logical and focused then spoke, "What happened to her?" Michael thought, 'she ran into my brother's fist a few times from this look of it!' He looked closer at his vessel. It was clear that Dean was trying to take in the body and ascertain what had killed her. It was Dean's mother, Mary who answered. "I don't know. It doesn't look supernatural." The rebel, Bobby added, "looks like son of a bitch beat on her until…" As the traitor Castiel continued, Michael watched the nephilim. It was clear the boy was busting to smite something. 'This could be an opening. Maybe this is what separates them. Maybe Lucifer, you have a role to play yet. Here's to you playing your part. Just hurry up and get on with it!'

Michael watched everyone become more angry as the took in the dead body. He could feel that his vessel was nervous, fearing this wasn't over. 'Yes Dean, you should fear that there is much worse to come, much worse. This is only the beginning, me thinks!' The archangel was practically brimming with energy. Standing so close to his sword and specifically as he took in the soul, that was shining so bright, he knew that the soul was shining brighter because it somehow knew he was close by. Unfortunately, he could feel the separation begin as Dean began to walk back towards the bunker side entrance. Michael managed to ascertain that they were going to question one of the other survivors to find out if there were any people Maggie would have been meeting.

Though, Michael was not interested in the fate of one human, he did realise this could be the catalyst that separates the nephilim from the others. Michael knew Lucifer needed to get his son on his own to weave his poisonous web of deceit and whilst that happened, then and only then could Michael make his move. 'Soon. Be patient.' Thankfully for the archangel he didn't have to wait too. The first thing he sensed was the nephilim leaving but after a few minutes, he sensed his vessel leave the warded building and make his way to a station a few miles down the road. Smiling, Michael knew he needed to go and prepare for his 'big entrance'.

Dean's POV:

"Son of a bitch! Damnit!" Dean was not happy. The entire business was leaving him very unnerved. Though, it seemed that Maggie's death was not supernatural, Dean could not ignore his gut. Everything within him was screaming that there was something nasty coming down the road, hurtling at great speed towards him and his family and friends. And he was powerless to do anything about it. So he did what he always did in these situations. He vocalised his anger whilst he pressed his foot heavy to the gas pedal and drove as fast as his baby could take him towards the gas station on route 2 81. As always, Sam seemed to 'mind read'. "Dean, slow down dude, the station is about 20 minutes from here and I for one, what us to get there in one piece. I know you're worried that Jack may lose it, and possibly channel is dad but he's grown a lot and he's learned so much. I don't think he will kill him."

The last sentence was said with less confidence. Dean knew his brother to, and he knew that even Sam was nervous. Jack was definitely a good kid, but he was a kid and was still coming to terms with feelings and emotions and then you add in his extensive powers and you were looking at a potentially explosive situation. "Sam, I know. I know, but we both know that Jack's power tends to have a mind of its own when he's emotional and he's really upset at the moment. I spoke with the kid earlier and he carries a lot of guilt around with him. If he hurts another innocent, I worry it may do more damage than we can fix. I just need to help 'save Jack from himself'." Sam got it. He nodded in agreement. Cas then took the opportunity to add his thoughts. "Dean, you are right. Jack has progressed so far. I'm proud of him. I know we all are, but I fear that he won't be able to keep his anger and by extension, his power in check on this occasion." Thinking further, he added, "drive faster Dean!"

Thankfully, between baby's power and Dean's driving skills, they made it to George's Gas & Go in a record 14 minutes. With no time to spare, all three burst out from the Impala and ran towards the stations' entrance. Dean watched the scene unfolding in front of him. The young sales assistant, Nate had been thrown against the glass beer cabinets at the back of the store. Jack was using his powers and had Nate by the throat. Dean heard Jack ask, "Why'd you do it? Tell me!" As expected, it was becoming clear to Dean that the young man knew nothing about Maggie's death.

Cas, being overprotective and also deeply concerned for the innocent human, shouted, "JACK!" As Cas ran towards Jack to stop him, Jack elbowed the angel and through his power, the angel flew to the side, clearly hurt, but not too serious. Dean took in this action. Sam tried then. "Jack! Let him go." It was clear to Dean that he needed to do something to shake up the situation, and by doing so, get through to Jack. There was only one logical option open to Dean, so without giving it too much thought he raised his gun and shot Jack in the back not once, but twice. Just to be sure. Thankfully, it worked. Within a second, Jack released a scared looking Nate.

Though, Dean would deny that he gulped, but he couldn't help it as he took in the shock and anger in Jack's face as he turned and faced him. "You shot me!" Jack was not happy. Dean had to take back control. "To get your attention. You're acting like a psycho!" Dean looked to his right and watched as Cas gathered himself up and stood upright. Cas continued, "Jack?" But before he could finish, Jack shouted, "he KILLED MAGGIE!" It was then that Nate interrupted their conversation. He looked confused. "Maggie? Maggie's dead?" If Dean had any reservations about Nate, they vanished with those words. It was clear to everyone (except Jack) that the young man was innocent. It was Sam who calmly took control of the situation. "Jack, listen to me, he didn't kill Maggie. Look at him." Jack seemed to be listening as he looked deeply at Nate and Dean could see the change in his body language. 'Oh no!' Within seconds, Dean's relief disappeared as he realised Jack had replaced anger with shame and guilt. Within seconds, Jack said, "I'm sorry" and then he walked off. As Cas shouted after him, Dean knew the young man needed space to sort out his emotions. "Hey Cas, let him go."

It had only been a few minutes, but Dean could tell the young sales assistant was beginning to come out of shock. Right on cue, Nate spoke, "You shot him?" Dean closed his eyes. 'Oh crap!' "Ahh, rubber bullets." Dean knew he needed not to say much more as Sam added, "a training exercise.." and this was finished by Cas, with, "we're FBI. I'm Agent Rollins, this is Agent Knowles and Agent Williams". Sadly for Dean, just as he began to smile at his best friends role playing, the lights began to flicker and then there was a series of thunderous bangs and this was followed by the slowly increasing high pitched noise.

'Oh God no!' The noise was the first clue that something really bad was coming. But it wasn't what filled the hunter with soul crushing dread. No, the noise just set the scene, but at that moment, Dean felt his soul flare in pain. Something was wrong, really, really wrong. He could feel it. Pushing the fear down as much as he could, Dean chose to focus on the immediate situation. "You need to go, NOW!" Thankfully Nate didn't need told twice. The sales assistant ran out of the store as if it was on fire. But the small distraction didn't last too long as the high pitch noise increased to the point where everyone, even Castiel had their hands covering their ears to try and protect them from the sound. As they bent over in pain, Dean took in how the shelves, products and even the very walls had begun to shake. Whatever was coming for them now, was so not good. It seemed that second shoe he thought about was about to drop!


	17. Chapter 17 - Let the good times roll

**Chapter 17: Let the good times roll!**

 _ **Current day…..**_

Michael's POV:

There were no words to describe how Michael actually felt. It had been over a year of knowing this day was coming/ Months and months of scheming and all leading up to what would happen over the next few hours. The archangel's very essence was threatening to burst out of his current vessel. The good and trusted vessel had never been a perfect fit but it was one of a number he had burned through over the past 10 years whilst on earth, but he would miss this one. It had lasted the longest, but it too was beginning to disintegrate and had done so faster in the last few months. Michael didn't want to think too much as to why, he could only speculate that this was due to his essence knowing his true vessel was now available and within reach.

Shaking his wings, Michael stilled himself and waited. He had deliberately stayed close to his 'sword' and was so relieved when he witnessed the car speed off towards the building he now found himself standing outside. He knew the half breed was still inside along with the all important Dean Winchester. So he waited, because he knew the time was drawing close. It wasn't long, but Michael physically felt when the nephilim left the building. He checked as to how far away Jack actually was. 'We wouldn't want Jack walking back in, now would we?' Thankfully the nephilim had flown off to a nearby wood. He searched further and felt his brother the moment Lucifer appeared in front of the nephilim. He listened to his brother and smiled as he recognised the simple manipulation the devil had managed to come up with.

At first, Michael had been furious at Lucifer for escaping but he knew his brother had little options available to him. Lucifer could either run from everyone and hope and pray that a fully charged Michael and his sword didn't find him. Or he could 'roll the dice' and try and brainwash his kid into taking his side and attacking Michael. That was the preferred option but Michael knew, as did Lucifer, that option would need some time in order to work to Lucifer's advantage. Michael had time and he would use it well. With that thought he grinned and turned back to the task at hand – the big entrance. 'Oh how shall I announce my presence. You all thought you had seen the last of me. Perhaps something that builds up to my arrival. Not too big as I have extensive plans to take forward and I don't need to draw too much attention to myself. Oh well, let's keep local!'

'Lets start with some shock and awe and then build up to the big reveal!' With a simple thought, Michael announced his presence. Concentrating on the building in front of him, he sent thunder rattling through the structure. It shook to its very foundations. He watched as an insignificant human male ran from the building. The archangel took that as his cue to materialise within the store. As he did, he increased the eardrum bursting ringing as his very footsteps announced his physical presence. Shelves vibrated and products kept falling to the ground. He walked closer, he could practically feel the fear rolling of his vessel. He could sense the soul calling to him, getting brighter and brighter the closer he got. Being this close to achieving everything he had planned was both exhilarating and dangerous as Michael needed to make sure he played his role and played it well. He must never show his hand too soon. So with every ounce of will in him, Michael still his emotions as he rounded the corner and allowed his targets to see him for the first time. And the entrance was perfect. The angel and the two human hunters looked directly at him as he stood with his arms the same length by his side, as if he was just out for a walk.

"RUN!" His vessel seemed to be the first to get over the shock as he shouted and was the first to run towards the doorway. Michael watched as his targets all managed to exit the building, but he wasn't to concerned. He knew there was nowhere for any of them to run to now. Michael strolled across the gas station in no rush. He heard the scrapping of metal. He knew his vessel was busy trying to find a weapon, anything to defend himself, but there was very little on this earth that could kill him. So, for dramatic effect, Michael ventured to make a point and sent a wave of energy that blasted the glass and the front of the store like an explosion. It had the desired impact of blowing both the angel and the younger brother against the vehicles parked outside.

Before opening the door, Michael could hear the angel state, "It's not possible!" This was followed by the younger human, "yeah, tell him that!" Opening the door, he walked out into the sunlight with a confidence that would show his enemies that there was nothing they could do, but run. The younger hunter seemed to get the message, but looking into the angel Castiels eyes, he could tell the angel knew what he was here for or more specifically, who he was here for. Smiling he said, "hey, fellas, miss me?" He watched as the seraph scrambled to his feet and seemed to be trying to launch an attack. Michael chanced a glance at his real target. He watched Dean watch in shock all whilst he tried to find something in the trunk of the car.

Michael began to move down the steps very slowly towards them. Sam shouts, "no, no, no, no Cas, don't!" The archangel recognised that the brave little seraph wanted to attack. Smugly he taunted the lower class angel, "no Cas, please do." He looked from Sam to Cas and then he stared directly at Dean. Their eyes meet. Michael saw fear and determination. 'Determination?' Michael snapped out of the staring context with his vessel, in time to see a lighter in his 'swords' hand as he lite a rag on fire. The rag is attached to the top of a jar. Within seconds he realised what was in the jar just as it was thrown at him. The jar smashed and exploded into flames just at his feet.

Dean shouted "RUN!" It was followed very quickly by a scrambling noise and "Go. Go. Go. Go!" Michael heard Dean shout and watched as his vessel moved along the side of the car and jumped into the drivers seat and within seconds Dean have revved up the engine and with a screech of the tires, was speeding off.

Michael watched as the car raced down the road in a steady retreat, no doubt, back to the so called safety of the bunker. As the car disappeared from immediate sight, Michael began to move. At first, he thought about meeting the humans just outside the bunker but he knew that the 'yes' would happen when he was inside. Knowing he had a few minutes to kill before he could break down the bunker defences, Michael cast his mind out in search of Lucifer and Jack. He went straight to the forest clearing, just in time to witness his brother successfully persuade his son to join him on 'an adventure'. He had a few minutes, so he sought to observe in secret. He looked at his brother as he continued to speak. "Right? But that's not their fault, or ours, it's just, us and humans, you know, we're like oil and water, sardines and strawberries, it's just a bad combination." It was clear to Michael from Jack's body language, that his brother was getting through. Jack asked, "what do we do?" Lucifer seemed to rejoice. He had hooked his son. Michael watched as he raised his hand to show his son he had the solution. "Leave." He turned and looked up towards the sky and continued, "There's a whole universe out there buddy. Planets, stars, galaxies, why should we stand here on earth when we can go anywhere else. Heck, anywhere else."

The boy was more hooked. 'Come on brother, close the deal now. Time is a wasting!' Michael watched as the boy thought further on all the possibilities. "Like emm,… like Star Wars?" Michael took in the actual smile coming from the nephilim. Looking towards his brother, he saw in his eyes that it was now time to 'close the deal.' "it's exactly like Star Wars. Wanna light sabre? I can make you a light sabre. Heck, I can make you a wookie!" Michael watched. Jack was really a child. A powerful being, but still a child. But then he saw questions in his eyes, "but, you know Sam, Dean and Castiel they'll miss me." Lucifer had moved closer with these words and then placed a fatherly hand on Jack's shoulder. "Yes, yes they will. It will be hard, but you have to live your life, for you. Right? This is our second chance, kiddo. This is our opportunity to escape our past and our sins and start over. What do you say? Father, son! You up for an adventure, buddy?" Jack seemed to think on it and then smiled as he said, "I'd like that. But there's something you need to do first."

As both Lucifer and Jack took flight, Michael could imagine their destination and cause was a simple one, back to the bunker and to fix the murdered human. Michael had witnessed first hand the raw emotions that the half breed had held when the girl died. It stood to reason, Jack would call on his father to heal her. 'Damnit! This will be cutting it close. Hurry Luci, heal and go brother. Just get out of the bunker as quickly as possible!'

Dean's POV:

"What the hell?!" Sam's statement seemed to sum up exactly what everyone was thinking as Dean raced away from the gas station. His hands kept gripping and releasing the steering wheel. "It's not what the hell Sammy, it's how the hell did he get here? I mean, we left his ass high and dry in apocalypse world. So why on earth is he alive and exploding things all over the place at our local gas station?" Sam seemed to be trying to find an answer but was coming up with nothing. It was Castiel that took a more practical approach. "I don't think it matters how he got here. I'm more worried about what he wants now that he is here?" Dean didn't missed the scared look the angel look gave him.

Sadly, it was Cas's words that sent a pain straight through Dean's chest. 'That's the million dollar question, isn't it?' Dean's thoughts flashed back to earlier, when he was frantically searching his baby's trunk for the jar of holy oil. It had only been a few seconds but that was all it took. He had lifted his gaze in search of where exactly Michael was positioned. He hadn't meant to get into a staring match with the archangel, but Dean couldn't help but stare back. It was there in the archangel's eyes that he saw something that filled him with dread. As he looked directly at Michael, he thought he saw possession. 'It was longing. No, it can't be. Neither is it desire.'

Dean shook his head as he came out of his memory. It wasn't good to overthink things and this was definitely overthinking. In fact, Dean had always been uncomfortable about the whole being 'the Michael Sword' thing. Dean would be lying to himself if he hadn't thought about being Michael's vessel over the years. The memory of finding out from Zachariah, in his father's lock up, all those years ago still haunted him. The feeling of being singled out for anything in his life, never name being identified as the Archangel Michael's sword filled him with ice cold fear. He was nothing special. Sam was the special one. His job was to be the grunt, the cannon fodder the character in the story that did the dying and all so that others, who were more important, would live. That was his role, nothing more, nothing less. But Michael had been defeated and imprisoned within the cage. Dean had never expected to be faced with the possibility that he was potentially 'back in the firing line as a vessel.' 'No it can't be that. In the other world, there were no Winchesters and by extension no vessels. The other Michael seemed to secure a vessel no problem. You're over thinking dude, relax and deal with this problem, like all that other crap that comes your way. Game face on with a give 'em hell attitude.'

"Dean….. Dean…. DEAN!" Dean jumped in his seat as Sam and Cas had both shouted to get his attention. "Cas asked you, what should we do now?" Sam looked at Dean with concern. Dean needed to get his shit together. "I don't know Sam. My first instinct is to run as far away as possible if I'm honest, but let's face it, where could we go to that would be safe from Michael?" Castiel and Sam both seemed to agree. "I say we go back to the bunker. Regroup with Jack and decide how best to form an attack." Sam nodded but then asked, "Do you think he'll come to the bunker?" 'That's a good question Sam'. "No. No, there's no way he knows where it even is and it's warded against archangels so, unless he's been lead directly to it before, we have some time."

Silence fell across the car. Everyone seemed to be deep in thought. About 10 minutes out from the bunker, the quiet was broken with the ringing of Sam's phone. Everyone had jumped, as if expecting the caller to be none other than Michael himself, but Sam sighed in relief when he saw it was Bobby's caller ID. Answering the phone, Sam's side of the conversation left Dean confused. "Hi Bobby… what do you mean we've got a problem? Hmmm… What do you mean bring Maggie back to life? How the hell did he get in the bunker? We're on our way, we'll be minutes, just keep them there."

Dean looked across at Sam. "What now? Please tell me there's good news!" As Dean finished, Sam's mouth turned downwards. "I'm sorry Dean, it looks like Michael didn't come alone, he had help, as in brotherly help from Lucifer. And worse still, Lucifer is with Jack and they're back at the bunker. Bobby says they're like best buddies and talking about resurrecting Maggie." Dean interrupted, "What the fuck? That son of a bitch!" Sam continued. "I know Dean. I've told Bobby to keep them there until we get back. I don't know what we'll do though, I'm sure Lucifer's pissed at us for leaving him behind." Dean pressed the gas pedal down further. "Look, one problem at a time. Let's just get home and try and figure out what to do first." With that remark, the car fell silent for the rest of the journey. Dean stared at the road, but if he was truly honest, he couldn't remember most of the journey back to the bunker. His mind was rolling over the limited options they now had. 'How the hell were they going to beat both Michael and Lucifer?'

Sam's POV:

'How the hell were they going to beat both Michael and Lucifer?' That thought was one of a number of questions that plagued Sam's mind as the Impala raced past all to familiar landmarks as they rallied their way back to the bunker. 'How the hell did this happened? Please Jack, please don't be stupid enough to believe the devil. How are we going to kill Lucifer? What if Michael finds us? What the hell does he even want? He's in a new world, he can do whatever he wants, why the hell would he even spend time coming after a bunch of hunters and refugees when he has a world at his feet?' That last thought made his blood run cold? Why was Michael here and why come after them? He knew Lucifer could be petty and cruel, but he always believed Michael to be strategic and distant. It didn't make good tactical sense to show his hand at such an early stage, unless there was a tactical advantage. One that Sam could not immediately see.

"Sam. Sam! Earth to Sam. We're back. Things to do. Huge shitstorm to navigate our way through. Come on dude, get your extraordinary large limbs out of the car." Dean's endearing remarks brought Sam back to reality. They had made it back to the bunker in one piece. Sighing with relief that Michael hadn't met them at the entrance, Sam said, "thank God we made it without an archangel greeting us at the door. Do you think Michael knows where we are?" Dean raised his eyes to meet Sam's. Sam could see that question alone seemed to unnerve his big brother. "I dunno Sam. At this stage, with the way our luck is going, I'd be surprised if he wasn't already inside cooking us a steak sandwich!" Of course, Sam couldn't help provide Dean with bitchface number 7. It was the only naturally response he could give to Dean's flippant remark. Seeing that the comment wasn't appropriate Dean continued, "Sorry, I know it's not the right time but I really don't know. There's just too much happening and I feel we've got no control over any of it." This, Sam understood. "OK Dean, you're right. Maybe it's time we took back some control."

Sam, Dean and Castiel took no time to get from the garage to the centre of the bunker. Sam was on a mission to deal with one piece of crap at a time. Bursting through the main door and making his way down the stairs, he looked over his shoulder to see Dean and then Cas follow him. Within seconds he shouted, "Jack! JACK!" Sam's heart sank when his mother answered, "he's not… he's gone." 'Oh double shit. This is sooooo not good!'

Michael POV:

Michael stood for just over 10 minutes in the clearing. He knew Lucifer and Jack would be back at the bunker and attempting to resurrect the human. He knew it would be close, but as to how close he wasn't sure and uncertainty was not something Michael could tolerate. Decision made, Michael flapped his wings and flew to the bunker. He arrived under secrecy to see the black car arrive and enter the bunker. As Michael moved closer to the warding border, he sensed both his brother and the nephilim depart. 'Thank Father, that was close. Another minute and the Winchesters and Lucifer would have met. But before I go further, I better make sure Luci has this covered.' With that thought he followed the father and son. It wasn't hard to find them. Lucifer was not even attempting to hide either of them. It was clear his brother was down with getting the hell off the planet.

Michael arrived to see it was dark outside. They were now back in a clearing of what was a different forest. Both were looking up at the sky taking the magnificence of God's creation. They were discussing plans for where they would go to first. It was clear to Michael that Jack was no longer part of the equation. His brother had done what he said he would do and effectively taken Jack of the chess board. Smiling at that thought, he flew straight back to the bunker and began to break down the warding, eager to reach what was importantly hiding inside.

Sam's POV:

It had been less than half an hour since Sam had burst through the doors of the bunker and learned he had just missed Lucifer and Jack by literally seconds. All was not good. Since coming back, Sam had learned more about Lucifer and Jack's behaviour and was beyond concerned that Lucifer was plotting something huge, perhaps even game changing. Lucifer was on Sam's mind constantly. He thought this had been over when he had left the devil in the other world. He should have known better. Lucifer was damn hard to kill. No, instead, Sam had chose to cling to a positive and happy ending to this story. That thought reminded him of the earlier conversation with Dean. Dean had been so happy to the point he was even considering some sort of retirement. 'Damnit. Fucking Winchester luck.'

Sam thought all of this and much more and all whilst he paced back and forth across the main room. As time rolled by Sam's thoughts turned to the more practical questions, as the huge questions couldn't be answered. "How did Michael and Lucifer both get here? How did they open the rift?" Though he didn't expect an answer, Dean felt compelled to speak. "you know what…. It doesn't… we've got to find Jack before Michael does whatever the hell he's gonna do. OK! I, I'll call Jody and everybody else." This comment seemed to intrigue Bobby. "You're going to put out an APB on the devil? Sam couldn't help but smile. It was a nervous reaction. The situation was so serious, he needed something to break the tension. So he watched his brother, as always, lighten the situation. "Yeah, I am." Sam watched as Dean walked away. As he observed Dean closer his smile faltered. It was clear to Sam that Dean was nervous, and the fact that he really hadn't said much about Lucifer and Jack, but had placed most of his concern on Michael, Sam knew Michael was the bigger threat and that alone was scaring his normally fearless big brother.

Sam wanted to catch up with Dean and to talk more with him about his thoughts and feelings. He knew Dean was more likely to shoot him down, and probably make fun of him quoting 'no chick flick moments' or 'I'm fine' and 'don't you think our plate is a little full' type quotes. But Sam didn't care because he knew his brother and he also knew the history with Michael, or at least their version of Michael. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to do any of this as Castiel interrupted him. "I'll check angel radio." Instead of moving towards Dean and trying to find an excuse to speak quietly with him, Sam just nodded at Cas. Then Mary chose the moment to ask the big question "Sam, even if we find Lucifer, how are we going to stop him?"

After his mother's question, Sam spent the guts of an hour walking from one task to another. He had been pondering this question since learning of Lucifer and Michael's return. There were many suggestions going through his mind, everything from pitting one archangel against another, but that still left them with having to kill the other one and the last time he check, Gabriel was very dead and most likely still lying were he fell in the other world. The thought of Gabriel's body left unattended to rot made his stomach twist in disgust. Gabriel hadn't been a perfect ally but he had been there for them when it mattered the most, and he did not deserve to die (again) at the hands of a brother carrying an angel blade. Exasperated by the cosmic size of their current problems, Sam decided it was perhaps easier to try and solve something, and as he took in Maggie he realised there were still some massive unanswered questions as to who killed her and why? Perhaps if he could get one little thing right, then that would be something. Armed with that goal in mind, he approached Maggie.

"Maggie, hey, sorry, you OK?" Sam was uncomfortable. He knew the timing didn't feel right but he had to do something. Maggie seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I'm alive, soooooo, yes." Sam was nervous. "Right. Listen, I know this is weird, so weird, but em… but before you died, do you remember anything about the person who killed you?" Maggie sighed, "does it matter, kinda seems you've got… you know… bigger satany problems" Sam nodded. "Yeahhh. Well we're dealing with those.. mostly… emm.. but yes, it does matter. It matters to me."

This explanation seemed to be enough for Maggie to share her story. Sighing again she said, "I never saw his face, but eh. I saw his eyes." The moment Sam heard 'glowing red eyes' leave Maggie's lips he knew their murderer. 'Of course, how could we have been so stupid? Lucifer must have been trying to get close to Jack and Maggie just happened to get in the way. I wonder was Michael with him when it happened?' The loud footsteps of his brother coming down stairs snapped Sam out of his thoughts.

"Alright, Jody's looking. So far nada." Dean looks frustrated. Sam knew it was going to be a long shot. Lucifer wasn't going to pop up with Jack in a shopping Mall or wherever. Lucifer was going to be somewhere quiet, without people so he could spin his poison. As Dean arrived at the table, Cas remained seated whilst Mary and Bobby stood standing alongside his brother. Cas was the next to update. "Yeah. Angel radio is nothing but static, which is disturbing." Dean answered for everyone, "Great, well, we'll just add that to the list!" It was Mary who once again tried to bring everyone back on point. "So what do we do now?"

Unfortunately, neither, Sam, Dean, Castiel or Bobby got a chance to answer her question as the relative peace and quiet of the bunker was shattered by loud bangs coming from above them. All eyes lifted and their gazes fell on the main entrance to the bunker. Maggie spoke first. "What's happening/" Sam said, "what the hell?" But Bobby re-emphasised Sam's last statement, "what the hell is that?" Sam knew for sure what unearthly being was trying to break through the warding. He took a chance to glance towards his brother. "Mum, Bobby, take Maggie and go through the garage." Dean finished Sam's sentence with "buy you some time."

Mary and Bobby seemed to catch up and it was clear Mary did not want to leave her sons. She had only really got them back and now she feared the worse as all three of her boys were going to face off against the archangel Michael. They didn't have a chance and she knew it. Sam knew it too, but he also knew that neither Dean or Cas were going to run anymore. Mary shouted "No!" But Dean beat Sam to it, "MUM! Please… Go!" Sam's heart broke as he saw the look Dean give their mother. Everything in his brother's eyes said 'please get out mum, save yourself. Live to fight another day.' Sam, like Dean, knew too well what was coming through that door was too powerful and they were defenceless. Mary took Maggie and Bobby and they ran.

As if on cue, the doors began to bend and break and the shaking increased. A very powerful and most likely very pissed off archangel was about to come crashing into their once secure sanctum. Sam and Dean looked at one another. Then the door final give way, flying off its hinges and their worst nightmare swaggered in. Sam's heart stopped for a few seconds as he took in Michael at the top of the stairs. He watched as the archangel moved forward to the edge of the balcony and stared down at them. Both hunters took their guns out and aimed at their target, ready to fire. Cas whisked out his angel blade and prepared to defend his charges. As if by measurement of fear, it was Dean who fired first at Michael. Sam followed and they both kept firing.

Sam knew the bullets were useless and this was futile. Michael seemed to want to make a grand entrance again, so instead of walking down the stairs he began to levitate and slowly descended to their level, all whilst they continued to fire angel killing bullets that just bounced off him. Sam was really worried, because when they had fired these bullets at Lucifer they had at least damaged the vessel, all be it for a few seconds, but he had wounds. But with Michael, they didn't even penetrate the skin. As Michael landed, Cas attacked first, but he was easily slapped back by the archangel's hand and he went flying across the central desk. Michael looked at them both. "You really thought you could run from me?" Sam was petrified for his brother, because he had a growing fear that this sentence wasn't really addressed to both of them, but it more likely was directed towards Dean. In fact, the more he thought about things, especially all those niggly little threads, the more it made sense. Armed with this thought, he knew it was important that Dean stayed as far away from Michael as possible and with that he attacked first. Sadly, as he knew, he didn't get a chance, as Michael was fast and with a few punches, Sam was down and nearly out on the floor.

Despite being dazed, Sam watches as his big brother did what Dean always does and that is 'protect Sammy at all costs'. Sam saw Dean set aside any fear he had for his own personal safety, or future, and engage in hand to hand combat with Michael. Dean had managed to grab an angel blade from the weapons bag. He lunged, but Michael was able to grab his arm and twist it throwing the blade out of his hands. This move had hurt Dean as Sam heard a manly 'ahhh' from his brother. Sam watched. As Dean had attacked, Sam watched Michael's expression change from professional to more personal. He seemed more angry and emotional when fighting Dean as if it was particularly mad at him. Michael chose to rough Dean up. He punched him a few times and held Dean in an arm lock.

Dean fell to his knees and Sam watched as the archangel grabbed his shirt. Dean struggled but it was useless. He seemed to change tactics and try and distract him or at least buy some time. "How did you…" As Dean gasped for air, Michael decided to finish his sentence. "… get here? Easy, I made a deal!" Sam noticed Dean go rigid when Michael said the word 'deal'. Dean seemed to be connected to Michael. His brother's gaze was trance like as if he was seeing a memory of Michael's. It only lasted a few seconds and then Dean renewed his struggling. "And now this world is mine. I can save it. Purge it of sin." Dean, being Dean, decided to 'poke the bear!' "Well, yeah, cause that worked on your rock!"

Sam did not like how Michael was looking at his brother. If Dean had been a glass of cool ice water in the middle of a desert, he would have got a similar look from a thirsty lost traveller. Michael smiled directly and continued. "Well, I'm not perfect. Yes, I made mistakes, but second times the charm. And you, Dean Winchester, will be the first life I take in this world. The first soul I save. Some would consider that an honour." Whilst Michael spoke, Sam watched. Michael's words said one thing, but all Sam could think was what did he mean by save? Was he going to physically kill Dean, body and soul or just the soul? Dean was not going to be bullied. He seemed to find courage from somewhere and glare into Michael's eyes and say, "Well, as Shakespeare once said…. Eat me DICKBAG!" Sam closed his eyes at this comment as he knew what would happen next and he wasn't disappointed. Michael did not seem to take Dean's bravado well, and began to slowly squeeze the life out of the older hunter.

Michael's POV:

Exhilaration flowed through Michael's very essence as he approached the bunker's warding. All the planning, plotting, torturing and waiting he had endured was going to be worth it. He could feel within his inner core, that within an hour, a mere 60 earth minutes, he would have secured his true vessel. But as ever, Michael was a showman, and though every part of him ached to just get in there, obliterate all opposition and take what was his, he knew that he had a role to play. And play it, he would. His first task was to destroy the warding. That wasn't a challenge at all and in many ways it would add to him 'making an entrance!'

Sending a number of power blasts against the warding barrier did the trick. It also produce the loudest thuds and bangs, never name what it did to the bunker's door. Once the barrier was basically destroyed, Michael turned his attention and power towards the physical door and it bent and crumbled in a matter of seconds, leaving the way clear for his arrival. As he walked into the bunker, stepping closer to his heart's desire, he took in the Men of Letters base of operations before him. It was impressive but in the scale of things it was not the most important reason for his being there. He walked over to the balcony and looked down towards the reason. As expected both humans feebly attempted to defend themselves as they opened fired.

Michael had considered whether he take the stairs or jump down from where he stood, instead in settled for a grander affair, by hovering and slowly landing all the time deflecting angel blade bullets that were being fired at him, by his vessel. As he looked at his adversaries, he could sense their fear as they realised the bullets had no impact whatsoever. As he landed, the traitor angel lunged towards him in a pathetic attempt to damage him. He easily slapped the seraph across the room in one tiny movement. In fact, it was taking every ounce of his willpower not to just destroy both the angel and the younger brother with his mind. He could so easily have done this and taken his 'sword' but he hadn't. That was not the plan. To get the yes, Dean had to have the right leverage dangling in front of him. Otherwise, everything would fail, and failure was not an option, not now, and not with the plans he had been drafting.

Looking at the brothers, but putting more focus on Dean, he stated, "you really thought you could run from me?" As he uttered the words, Michael couldn't help but smile towards Dean. 'So close. Your soul, it burns so brightly, calling to be claimed. You're mine, it's just a matter of timing and leverage.' The archangel noticed that the younger brother had stepped in to defend his brother, as if he sensed the real danger, but he was no real threat. A few punches later and the taller hunter was thrown across the room and had landed in a heap on the floor.

It was then that he turned his complete attention on Dean. Michael had noticed that his vessel was slow moving in attacking, but seemed to come more alive when he saw his brother tossed like a ragdoll across the room. Michael watched as the older hunter reached into a bag on the table and produce an angel blade. 'Surely you know it cannot hurt me? But still you fight. So stubborn. Such determination.' The hunter lunged at him, but it was easy to avoid and in no time, Michael had Dean held tight in a deadly grip. The blade had long since been dropped and his vessel was now on his knees. It would be so easy to break his arm but Michael had to be careful, he needed Dean weakened and vulnerable, not broken and pissed. So he held back and decided he needed to draw it out a little longer. But try as Michael might, he couldn't suppress his annoyance and anger at his vessels attack, but being so close to Dean seemed to bring out Michael's true emotions.

Michael revelled in how Dean was struggling. He was enjoying watching how powerless his vessel was when it was empty of angelic essence. On his own, Dean was just a weak human, but that would change and change soon. As he stared directly at his vessel, the human spoke, "how did you…" Michael being smug and all powerful decided to finish his sentence, after all, very soon, Dean wouldn't be starting never name finishing any sentences. "… get here? Easy, I made a deal!" It was with these words, that Michael began to make his connection. He chose to illustrate Lucifer's betrayal and the deal they struck. He could tell from his 'swords' eyes that he had received the images. 'Good. No, not good, excellent in fact, the bond can work and the fact that it worked so quickly just shows we are meant to be one.'

As he realised how powerful the bond actually was he couldn't help but continue, "And now this world is mine. I can save it. Purge it of sin." Dean seemed to not like this plan and spat out a pathetic retort, something about how he had failed to do it in the last world. Michael rose above the criticism. He could sense the fear in his human's eyes. He was grandstanding; playing for time. 'Well two can play at that game, Dean!' Michael took the opportunity to really take in his vessel. "Well, I'm not perfect. Yes, I made mistakes, but second times the charm. And you Dean Winchester will be the first life I take in this world. The first soul I save. Some would consider that an honour!" As he said the words, Michael couldn't help think on the real meaning of the words. 'Oh yes, I will take your life, but not as you understand it. It's your soul I'm after Dean. I will save your soul for me.' Deep in thought, he almost missed Dean's insult, hearing the words "… eat me, DICKBAG!" Seeing it as an act of defiance, Michael began to make his point as he started to squeeze the hunter's throat. As the hunter struggled, Michael just couldn't help it. The sheer stubborn nature of his vessel, combined with his blatant defiance, just made the archangel fall further into obsession. 'I will have to teach you a lesson later. You will be broken properly.'

Unfortunately for Michael, as Sam witnessed what he thought would be the death of his brother, he began to pray to the nephilim of all beings. "Jack, Jack, I don't know where you are and I don't even know if you can hear this prayer, but we need you . We need you!" Michael continue to lift Dean slowly off the ground, all whilst ignoring the prayers made by Sam. He should have silenced the younger hunter as his words were running the risk of alerting the nephilim. That would be disastrous as the child would most likely return. But he chose to ignore Sam Winchester and to focus on his obsession. Instead, he spoke directly to Dean, "I could have done this quick. But I wanted to enjoy it. That moment when the soul leaves the body. It's beautifullll." The archangel's eyes widen as he thought about that powerful soul and how it was all his for the taking.

Then something changed. Michael sensed the nephilim before he physically arrived, but before he could do anything, he was hit immediately by an energy blast. The blast sent him flying back against the wall. His vessel was damaged and he was in pain. It was the first true pain he had experienced in a very long time. As Michael fought to regain his composure he headr Lucifer arrive and try to make light of it. Michael could tell that his brother didn't want Jack to be in the bunker any more than Michael did. Within seconds of arriving, Lucifer tried to urge his son to leave quickly, but Michael could tell from the anger currently ablaze in the half breeds eyes, that Jack was here for some revenge and Michael was in for a world of pain.

"We done, buddy?" Michael watched as Lucifer pushed a little at his son to leave, but he could see that Jack was furious and too strong. Jack raised his hands and his eyes glowed. Michael braced himself, as if he knew what was coming. "You hurt my friends!" At that moment Jack clinched his fist and Michael doubled over in pain. He could feel his vessel begin to break down as blood started to flow from his eyes, ears and nose. Inside, he could feel his organs crush in on themselves. The nephilim had managed to basically destroy his vessel in one move. If he wasn't dying, he would be impressed at the show of force. Michael managed to glimpse Lucifer who had the look of both fear and awe. His gaze shifted to his true vessel, who was looking on in shock. Michael saw concern as well as relief flash across Dean's face as he got slowly to his feet. Michael knew he had to do something as he was clearly losing. He had one move left, so with a deep breath he shouted, "LUCIFER! We had a deal!"

Lucifer began to look worried. "OKkkkk, game over, hey buddy let's split!" But despite Lucifer attempting to deflect away from Michael's comments, it was too late, Jack was curious as to what he meant and he turned back and asked that exact question. Lucifer was now nervous and quickly blurted out a half hearted denial, but Dean stepped in. "They had a deal. Lucifer gets you. And Michael gets everything else." Lucifer kept trying to deny it, but Dean kept going. "He's going to nuke our world Jack. Just like he did his." Jack was becoming increasingly suspicious of his father. "Is this true?" As Lucifer said no, Jack continued, "is that why you wanted us to leave?" Michael smiled, as he knew how this conversation was going to end. Finally, the facade that Lucifer had worked so hard to create with his son, was about to come crashing around him.

The ever intelligent Sam fuelled the situation as he asked what Jack was talking about leaving? "He said…. He said we'd go to the stars." The traitorous angel joined the conversation. "What, you were just going to leave the rest of us here to burn?" All the questions were getting to Lucifer. His nice guy mask was slipping. "OK, hold on a second, let's slow down. I'm not currently the bad guy here." 'Here it comes, drop the bombshell human.' "Yeah, well tell that to Maggie!" 'And there you go.' Michael felt happy, he was no longer the nephilim's centre of attention. Jack asked, "What about Maggie?" Sam did not fail to deliver, it was obvious the great hatred he held for Michael's brother. Michael could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. "Maggie saw the eyes of the person who killed her. The glowing. RED. Eyes!" On hearing the accusation, Lucifer laughed and tried to get Jack to move. He even tried to call Sam a hater. Jack had obviously had enough and decided to find out for himself. "Tell me!" And so Jack used his powers and a controlled Lucifer sing songed out a confession about how he smashed Maggies skull and enjoyed it.

Michael felt it was a small victory as he heard the words from the nephilim, "you're not my father." Of all the words, he knew these would be the ones that would break his brother. Michael had learned so much when he had interrogated Lucifer and one of those important nuggets of information, was that Luci really wanted a good relationship with his son. Michael could see, that this version of his brother had lost his way when the apocalypse failed to happen and now needed a new mission. It seemed, the devil believed his son could deliver what he failed to do with the first apocalypse. So it was with great happiness internally, that Michael was glad Lucifer's dream of a father/son team up to take over the universe was well and truly crushed. 'Job number one, DONE.'

Lucifer screamed an unearthly roar in reaction to being called a monster. Everyone except Jack and Michael cowered, holding their hands to their ears at the shriek. Michael shifted his position again, still clearly suffering from what the half breed had done to him. Though, he was thankful that he was still able to breath. 'And now for the big scene!' Everyone watched with a sense of growing unease as Lucifer spoke. "OK, I tried with you. I REALLY TRIED WITH YOU!" As Jack accused Lucifer of lying about everything, Lucifer broke. "Because I told you what you wanted to hear MAN. SO what, I killed a girl, big deal, she's a human and doesn't matter." As Jack reminded his father that he was half human, Lucifer relished giving his son a piece of his mind. "Yeah. And that's your problem. You're too much like your mother."

Michael took in Castiel's body language. The seraph was not stupid, he had a very bad sense that a cornered Lucifer was a very dangerous animal, and as such had interrupted Jack to try and warn him, but Michael suspected that Jack's youth and the fact that he was half human, led the nephilim to believe he had the upper hand. Michael knew only to well that when it came to his brother, you had to be very weary. The nephilim was about to learn a very harsh lesson. Sadly, Michael was proved right as Lucifer continued. "Oh buddy, we could have been something, you and me. We could have remade the universe. We could have been great. We could have been better gods than dad. And I really wanted that, but now if I can't have it with you, well, I don't need you. I just need your power."

In seconds it was over. In less than three seconds, everyone in the room (bar Michael) witnessed just how dangerous Lucifer really was. He managed to slit Jack's neck and steal his grace. Michael heard his vessel shout "Jack!" and the traitor shout "No!" But nothing was going to stop Lucifer powering up and vanishing and this time with not just Jack but with Sam hitching a ride. In a flash of a bright light, it was all over, bar the shouting or in this case, his vessel screaming his brother's name.

Looking round in confusion and trying to work things out, Dean remarked, "What just happened?" It was met by his loyal guardian angel replying, "I don't know." This was the cue Michael had been waiting for. The scene was prepared, he just now needed to make a gentle nudge. In a low, unthreatening and despondent voice Michael began. "The devil won." Those words brought Dean's attention back to the archangel. Michael could see that his human was struggling to catch up and take in what had just happened. So Michael took his time to explain, instead he thought a visual effect was needed, so he slowly got to his feet. "That's what happened." It was then that Michael saw the despair hit Dean. Reality was starting to sink in. Michael could see that Dean was beginning to break. His brother Sam was off somewhere unknown with a juiced up pissed off Lucifer. Michael could tell that all Dean could think about was how fucked up beyond all repair the situation was. No matter what, this would not end well. And then Michael saw it in his vessel's eyes, the question he had been both waiting for and waiting to answer – 'could it be stopped, could a fully powered up Michael stop Lucifer and save Sam?'

Dean's POV:

'Could it be stopped, could a fully powered up Michael stop Lucifer and save Sam?' Thoughts and emotions bombarded Dean at rapid speed as he turned and tried to comprehend what had just happened. In less than a day, his life had went from having all his friends and family safe and under one roof, to now, Jack powerless, Sam missing, mum and Bobby on the run and that's before he even thought of a pissed off Michael never name a super charged Lucifer. And then his mind flew back to Sam. His eyes went wide as Michael's words sunk in. The devil had won everything. How had it come to this?

Cas moved closer. The look on his friends face was extremely grave, Dean knew his friend was worried for him as well as angry at Michael. It didn't go unnoticed that Cas had moved closer as if to act as a shield if Michael decided to attack. Cas asked, "how do we stop him?" Michael was standing completely upright but it was clear to see that he was severely injured. The archangel answered, "you don't. After consuming the nephilims' grace, Lucifer's juiced up. He's super charged, he'll kill the boy… your brother. Hell, he could end the whole universe if he put his mind to it. And you thought I was bad!" As Michael spoke, Dean kept running things over in his mind. He was weighing up the situation and trying to make a tactical decision. A decision he hoped that would end with Sam being safe, but he knew the personal cost was most likely going to be high.

Concerns for his own health and safety were unimportant. All Dean could see was his brother and Jack dead, at the hands of Lucifer. He looked at Michael and recognised that look only too well. It was one of defeat. He watched as Michael fought to stay upright and he then compared it to the Lucifer that had just been there. He couldn't accept that there was no options. "No, no you beat him. I saw you." Dean's words sounded desperate but were laced with some hope. A hope that was about to be crushed as a sad Michael spoke. "When he was weaker and I was stronger. Believe me, I'd love to rip my brother apart, but not with this banged up meat suit. (Cough) Not happening!" Dean let his eyes take in the archangel in front of him. The coughing seemed to show just how weak and pathetic Michael now was. Dean was petrified. 'This can't be it. I know Jack did a number on you but I've seen you beat him. You just need a little help. Shit no. No, no, no, no, no. Fuck no!'

It was clear to everyone in the room that Dean was rolling an idea over in his head, one that was not very appealing to him, but it seemed like there were no other options. As Dean continued his internal debate, Michael rammed the point home. "This is the end… of everything!" Dean could not accept this, there had to be another way. "No…." Dean stopped to consider his next words very carefully. Michael seemed to be really be listening, as if knowing what would come next would be important. "…. What if…" With these words, Dean closed his eyes. His expression screamed, 'I can't believe I'm about to suggest this.' "… what if you have your sword?" And there it was, he had uttered the proposal.

Dean knew it was a bad idea, but what other option did he have. This was the only play on the board left and he thought, 'Michael is weak, there's a chance that combined we can win or at least provide a chance for Sammy and Jack to escape. Either way I will most likely die, but isn't that just like every other Tuesday?' As he uttered the question, he opened his eyes to see the archangel angel staring right at him. He turned away from the glare and straight into two very blue shocked eyes of his friend Castiel. This was so not a good idea and he knew from Cas's body language, that the angel agreed with him. But as Dean had now spoken his thoughts out loud, he knew he had already committed himself to this action. 'In for a penny, in for a pound! Here goes nothing!'

"Dean, NO!" Cas moved closer as if hoping that his closeness would some how change Dean's mind. But Dean was committed to this course of action. "I am your sword. Your perfect vessel." Dean was proud that his voice did not shake as it would have really betrayed how scared he was. Whilst speaking, Dean had edged closer to Michael. He felt a strange invisible force pulling him towards the archangel. As he moved closer, he couldn't help but replay flashbacks in his head. All he could remember were conversations about vessel and destiny and that everything he did would always lead him back to this decision. It then dawned on Dean. It was so obvious, did he ever have a choice. 'No, never. Winchester, you knew what was coming, you've always done. Be honest with yourself, you knew that once you heard another Michael existed that it would inevitably lead you to this decision.'

All of a sudden, Dean heard Gabriel's words from all those years ago, 'you were born for this!' He pushed this thought to the back of his head and continued, "with me, you'd be stronger thank you'd ever been." He had moved even closer now. Dean watched as Michael really looked at him, as if weighing up his words. "Oh, I know what you are." Dean was relieved that at least Michael knew about him. He wasn't sure if that made him really feel better or worse. "If we work together, can we beat Lucifer?" Cas queried, "Dean?" Dean could tell his friend was not on board, but desperate times, meant desperate measures. "CAN WE?" Dean didn't have the time for debate, he needed Cas on board and Michael to ironically agree to this.

Dean knew his actions had been clear and as he took in Michael demeanour, he searched out to see if there was any unknown denominator or threat that wasn't obvious. Dean was only offering himself up as the 'sacrificial lamb' because Michael's vessel was useless. But as he took in the archangel, he couldn't detect any real threat. He knew he couldn't trust Michael, but he had no other option. Michael replied to his question, "we'd have a chance." The hunter could tell from the archangel's voice that he was really considering this idea as a possibility, but Dean's gut felt that there was something amiss about Michael's acceptance. 'You should be furious for losing. You shouldn't be rolling over without a fight. Also, I can't believe you haven't thought about using me as a sword before now.'

Though, despite the internal battle, Dean closed his eyes. His decision was made, there was no turning back from this. Cas recognised that look and moved forward, as if to stop him. "Dean, you can't!" Dean turned to his friend, "Lucifer. Has Sam. He has Jack. Cas, I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" On seeing the pleading look from Cas, Dean turned back and with more determination, he tried to control things better. "If we do this, it's a one-time deal. I'm in charge. You're the engine, but I'm behind the wheel. Understand?" Archangel and true vessel faced off. Dean could tell Michael was considering the proposal. That behaviour alone, threw Dean, as he had always imagined that Michael would have jumped at the opportunity to have access to his true vessel. 'Maybe he really isn't too keen to make use of my body. Maybe this might work. Oh hell, I can't tell anymore. Please God or Chuck, let this be the case.'

The clock was ticking. Dean knew there was little to no time to waste. He needed this to happen and to happen now. He lowered his head. He was in turmoil as his head and heart were at loggerheads. His head told him, 'this may be the only way, but you can't trust Michael to keep his end of the bargain. He will destroy you.' Whilst his heart told him, 'Do it. You know you have to do it for Sammy and Jack and for everyone else. Your life for theirs. It a no brainer. Just make the call.' In the end his heart won out, as always. "Yes. The answer is yes. So come on then, let's do this before you go and die on me!"

With the little bravado he had left, he stepped into Michael's personal space, just in time to see the archangel raise his head and close his eyes. Dean realised what was happening and closed his eyes also, just as a bright light engulfed both bodies. At first Dean didn't feel anything. Then all of a sudden, he felt a huge wave of power and energy invade his body. The transference was over in seconds. Dean looked around him in surprise. Cas stood speechless. Dean felt he needed to say something. "Cas, whoww that was intense." Cas was weary and asked, "Dean, is that really you in there?" Dean smirked, "Could you tell if I was lying?... Emmm.. I'm joking Cas, it's really me. And I feel good, no. I feel great!" Cas asked, "can you feel Michael's presence?"

That was the question, was Michael present? Focusing some more, Dean closed his eyes and sought out the archangel. He found himself in the same room he was standing in but this one was different. Michael still looked like his other vessel but the fact that the archangel was within his head left Dean slightly stunned, so Michael decided to explain, "Hello Dean. You don't need to be alarmed. This is a construct of your mind that you have placed me in for safe keeping. I will keep my word and once Lucifer is dead I will leave this place. As promised, I am giving you complete control of my abilities and power. Use them wisely, both our lives depend on it." Dean's eyes snapped open. He smiled and nodded to Cas. "Yeah, he's in there and behaving… for now. But Cas, I need to leave you and go and stop Lucifer now, so hold down the fort. And don't worry, I'll be back. I promise, I'll be back." Something compelled Dean to hug his friend, so he did. He quickly released Cas from their hug and set his mind on locating Lucifer and Sam. It took seconds to find them and with another thought wings spread from his back and he vanished.

Sam's POV:

Whilst Dean had sacrificed himself, Sam was fighting his own battle. Within seconds of crashing to the ground as Lucifer landed, the devil set about attacking him. "Really Sam, hitching a ride! I mean, do you ever quit?" Sam scrambled up onto one knee and attempted to stand completely upright. In pain and completely disorientated, Sam held his own. "Go to hell!" Of course, Lucifer answered in a deadpan voice. "Yeah, been there, done that." It was followed by a swift boot to Sam's face.

There was little to no time to think on the events, as Sam was lifted. "It's been real fund and I've really had a great time with you, but I think we should see other people." Sam couldn't really reply as he was gasping for air. Lucifer moved to drop Sam and then placed his right hand on his chest. Sam immediately felt immense pain as Lucifer's eyes glowed and he started to destroy Sam's very soul. Luckily for hunter, Jack shouted, "STOP!" Miraculously, the devil was listening and stopped in his tracks. Sam could tell that there was nothing but contempt in the devils eyes. Lucifer hated his creation. Arrogance and annoyance showing through the archangel, he said, "You know what, why should I listen to you?" Sam looked on and watched as Jack answered that he was his son.

Sam knew at that moment it was the wrong thing to say as his mind flashed back to Jack's earlier declaration, 'you're not my father!'. Sam could tell Lucifer also remembered those words, so it wasn't a shock when a still angry and rejected Lucifer didn't mince his words in telling him, "Oh yeah, well you had a chance with that but you…" Lucifer didn't really continue, instead he kept punching the young nephilim. This continued until Jack was on the floor. Then Lucifer continued, "… as for kids, ehh, I can make more of them!" Sam felt for Jack. Lucifer's words were bound to have cut real deep, so Sam got up to try and help but was met with another punch to his face.

"Ahh, daddy Sammy coming to the rescue… but your little Jackie aint the loving boy you had before. He's killed people. Got lots of blood on his hands." Sam watched as the devil walked towards him and began to circle like a wolf circling his prey. Sam wobbled on his feet and looked towards Jack to give him proof that he still believed in him. Finding his courage, Sam stood up to Lucifer. "I don't care. He's family." As he said it, he knew that was a good thing and a bad thing to say to Lucifer, given how mad and betrayed Lucifer felt. "Heh, what's family ever done for you? My dad left me. My brothers, tried to kill me A LOT! Family blows. I'm going to prove it to you." Sam didn't like were this was going. It couldn't be good and knowing Lucifer, he would most likely not survive it.

Finding courage Sam said, "oh, by killing me, go ahead." Sam was goading Lucifer now. Anything to keep his attention away from Jack. "No. I'm not going to kill you. He is." Sam was confused as he saw Lucifer point towards Jack. The devil then dropped an archangel blade on the floor and there it lay between the two of them. Both Sam and Jack looked down at it and they both realised what the proposal was. Jack stared directly at Sam. Lucifer spoke up, "I could… I should really execute you. I mean really, really use my imagination. Buttt, I'm feeling generous today, so one of you is gonna walk out the door and the other one will be lying dead on the ground. You choose!" This was not going to happen so Sam answered immediately, "NO!"

Lucifer seemed to anticipate this so he added, "… or you could do that and I could murder you both a and end all life in the universe. Remake it in my image. Better than dad ever could. I'm thinking, emmmm, fire breathing dragons, sassy talking robots. I might give humans another chance, if they know their place and worship me. Cause, I've earned it! But hey, it may take a few days to unravel the universe, say 7 to 10 days tops. Sooo, maybe, one of you can stop me. Maybe… Wellll that's see. Clocks ticking guys!"

Sam could really see that Lucifer was really enjoying all of this. He looked at the devil and then at Jack and he tried to look at his options. He knew that Dean was most likely struggling in a fight with Michael, never name, where would he even start to try and find both Jack and himself. Chances of a rescue were little to none. He could stall for time, but for what? All he was doing was burning up minutes and delaying the inevitable. Mind made up, he glares at Lucifer. "Kill me."

Sam's decision had obviously taken Jack by surprise. Sam decided he needed to make it clear so he lifted the blade and handed it to Jack. He then clarified, "Kill me. You can stop it Jack. You can get your power back." Sam knew this was the only play left in the book. He placed the knife in the young man's hands and encouraged him to kill him. Jack disagreed. "No. I, I, I, can't. I can't beat him…. But you can…" Then Sam realises that Jack had also been thinking something similar. "What? No, no, no, no, no. Jack! Jack don't!" But despite his pleading, Sam could see that the nephilim had made up his mind and was now declaring his love. Jack started to sink the blade into his chest. Sam believed this was game over but before he could react in any way, he was hit by a bright light coming from the far side of the abandoned church.

As everyone looked toward the light, Sam's heart stopped at the sight before him. There standing proud and tall was his brother, but with two 'tiny' differences, a pair of glowing blue eyes and two very large and healthy black wings that stood outstretched from his back. 'Oh God no! No Dean, please don't have said yes. Is that Michael in there in control? Oh please no, no, no, no.' As the panic rose up within Sam, "Dean?" Dean seemed to not acknowledge him as he stood eyes front with a very determined and pissed off look on his face. He also looked a little distant to Sam as if slightly lost, but with Sam's voice he seemed to come back to himself. With a slight movement of his head, his eyes looked towards Sam and in that moment Sam knew it was his brother with the simple warming words falling from Dean's mouth, "Sammy."

Sam was so lost in the moment, he had barely realised that Lucifer had abandoned his little game of torture/suicide and had walked forward to take in the new visitor. Looking towards Dean, Lucifer said, "you let my brother in!" Dean addressed him directly. "Well, it turns out he and I have something in common, we both wanna gut your ass." Sam moved a little out of the way as he knew that this was going to get very violent, very fast, just by the look in Lucifer's eyes as he seemed to relish the opportunity to take on his big brother. Smiling, Lucifer began to run towards Dean. Sam watched as his brother met him with a front kick which sent the devil flying backwards, landing with a crashing sound on a piece of stray furniture.

Lucifer was not deterred. He rose to his feet with pride and arrogance. Dean took the opportunity to take out the archangel blade and stalk towards Lucifer. 'Oh yeah, that's you in there Dean. No one walks and stalks with those bow legs like you do. Thank God you're in control.' Unfortunately, Lucifer and Dean are evenly matched as the devil managed to disarm Dean and Sam watched as the blade fell to the ground. It was followed by an elbow to Dean's face. Lucifer then grabbed Dean and threw him with such force a mere 15 feet across the church. Sam helplessly looked on as his brother slowly got to his feet. But Lucifer was the aggressor this time, as he ran towards the older Winchester and leapt to meet Dean in mid air. Both struggled and hit one another as they continued to rise higher and higher. Each delivered punch after punch to one another. All Sam could was stand as a spectator, powerless to help. Then Lucifer gained the upper hand as he kicked Dean and he flew backwards. Thankfully his brother was able to steady himself, and then he took the opportunity to fly straight at the devil to deliver a powerful punch, but Lucifer beat him by hitting him first.

It was clear to Sam that his brother was losing now. Dean was dazed and the devil took advantage as he continued to punch and punch the older hunter. Sam couldn't watch so he lowered his eyes and it was then that he saw the archangel blade. As he was lifting it he could hear Lucifer gloating. "Well, you tried Dean, I'll give you that buddy. I'm not just powerful now. I am power. I don't need a blade to end you pal." Sam looked up and saw Lucifer move his hand towards the top of Dean's head, he was getting ready to smite him. Without further thought, Sam threw the blade up towards his brother, shouting, "DEAN!"

Lucifer was too cocky and too confident. He was so distracted by the thought of destroying not one but two colossal pains in his ass – Michael and Dean Winchester. He was so relishing his 'victory' that he had forgotten about the lowly little humans beneath him and that small human had taken a stand, ready to help his brother, because Lucifer forgot about the most important power of all – the power of love and love for your family. So as Lucifer sing songed, "bye, bey Dean," and sent power surging through his hand, Dean grasped the blade firmly and raised it. With one last swing, Dean plunged it right up under the rib cage and pierced Lucifer's black heart.

The effect was immediate. Sam, Jack and even Lucifer had the look of complete shock on their faces. Lucifer let out a hell scream as Dean fell to the floor holding the angel blade. As everyone raised their eyes towards Lucifer, the devil's essence and life force flashed and his wings burned. It was such a dramatic death scene, as only the death scene for such a huge villain could be. The three humans had to cover their eyes as they were near blinded. They only knew to open them as they heard a thud as the body of Lucifer fell to the floor. The only clue of who had fallen were the two large wings branded into the floor tiles of the church.

Silence followed such a show as Dean, Sam and Jack took in what had just happened. Jack had moved closer to Sam as Dean stood still staring down at the floor. Jack was the first to speak, "Is he…. " Sam felt he had to say it, "..dead? He's dead!" At that moment Sam's heart soared. He was finally free of his greatest nightmare. The face and evil that haunted his dreams was finally gone. He couldn't help himself, he had to smile. His smile grew bigger as he took in his brother who had survived intact. Dean seemed to know what to say as he summed it up perfectly, "holy crap!" Sam moved closer to Dean and said, "you did it!" Dean being Dean hated to take total credit for anything, never name something this big and important, looked at them both. "No. No, we did it!"

In that moment, Sam knew how lucky he was. He had the honour of having one of the most special human souls to love and look after him. His big brother, brave, humble and selfless. He couldn't have been prouder. On their own they were strong, but he knew that together they could do anything, even take down the biggest evil to ever walk the earth. Dean grinned as they all looked at each other and began to savour the victory. Sam was so distracted by the win that he practically forgot what enabled Dean to accomplish what he had, but Michael chose that moment to remind them all of his presence.

Michael's POV:

The transfer had been simple. Michael felt it was like slipping in to a comfortable jacket or pair of shoes. That's how it felt when he entered his true vessel. At first, he give serious thought to taking over there and then, but he realised that due to the caveat Dean had stipulated, he had to step back from control whilst Dean fought Lucifer, but as far as Michael was concerned, the moment Lucifer died, their contract ended and the rest would be a battle of wills. Besides, Michael had not been strong enough when he entered his vessel. The run in with the nephilim had weakened him more than he would have liked to admit, and he wasn't totally lying when he said they might have a chance. It was always going to be a hard fight, especially as Lucifer was powered up with his son's grace. But Michael had faith in his father's plan and he had faith in his plan and nothing would stand in his way.

So it was no surprise that Dean visited Michael to check he was doing as he had promised. 'Oh how stupid and trusting you are. You are so desperate aren't you Dean that you really think I will sit here and just provide you with all the power to do what you have to do. I will give you this gift for now, but I will come a calling for my payment very soon.' He had given Dean a humble version of himself as he promised to keep his word. It seemed to be enough for the hunter as he left his mind and flew towards the fight.

As tempted as Michael was to take over during the fight, he chose to concentrate in providing Dean with as much strength and energy as possible. Despite being in his true vessel, Michael knew he was still recovering from what had happened and it would take a few days before he would be at full if not ultimate power. Days he didn't have, but thankfully, brotherly love won the battle for him. He watched as Dean plunged the blade deep into Lucifer's heart. Michael knew it was all over as he saw the large wings go up in flames and burn out of existence, just like Lucifer did.

As Dean fell to the floor, Michael began the coup. He sensed that Dean had been hurt and disorientated by what Lucifer had done when he had tried to smite him. It hadn't killed the human but it had weakened Dean's soul and that was all Michael needed to take over. It helped greatly, that Dean was distracted by the monumental win that had been accomplished. The hunter was so happy that he had not realised what was happening until it was too late. Michael positioned himself and was ready to strike. He made his move as soon as Dean began to laugh. The human was bent over and Michael attacked. It was swift and brutal. Dean grunted in pain as his consciousness was placed in the exact replica of the bunker room. The last control Dean had was as he screamed, "WE HAD A DEAL!" Michael seized control and after that there was silence.

Calmness spread through Michael's new body. The fight hadn't been much in the end as he managed to capture Dean's very soul and imprison him within his own mind. He risked a few seconds to make sure Dean was unconscious and neutralised. Looking down on the hunter's soul he smiled. He left Dean immediately and opened his eyes upon the real world. He raised his head and looked into the eyes of the other human. Michael was tempted to destroy but he knew both had a role potentially to play going forward so he looked and spoke quietly, "Thanks for the suit." With those words he disappeared.

Faced with so many options and large plans, Michael had to take some time and prioritise what needed to happen first, but before he did anything he was going to take a few seconds and just recognised that the good times were finally here.


	18. Chpt 18 The road back to you

Chapter 18: Epilogue – The road back to you.

Currently….

Michael's POV:

'So much to do, so little time!' That was his first thought as Michael landed miles far away from 'that' church. He looked around and found that he had been in such a rush to get away from the hunters and from anyone that would recognise him, or his vessel, that he had transported himself to a large city. He realised that he was still in Northern America and going by the signage, it seemed he was now in the city of New York, somewhere Downtown, Manhatten, to be exact. He raised his eyes and took in the tall skyscrapers. This world was so different from the one he left behind. 'Oh how mankind had flourished. How happy they are as they wander about their daily business, so blissfully unaware of the evil the lurks in the darkness. But I look at you and I ask, are you truly happy? More importantly, what do you want?'

Those thoughts were big and belonged with the big picture strategy he was currently constructing, but there were so many things that he had to do first before he could even begin. First things first, he needed to take total control of his vessel. Michael decided to start from the outside and work his way inward. He looked down at the denim jeans, the flannel checked shirt, t-shirt and jacket. All were just so 'Dean Winchester.' They were not Michael, Archangel of the Lord and future ruler of this world. The look had to change. Michael took some time and accessed Dean's memories and it didn't take long to identify he was in the right city to locate the right look he required.

A rustle of wings later and Michael found himself outside a very chic men's formalwear store. He walked towards the window and stared at the suits of clothing. He smirked as he considered how his vessel would feel about the new look. He was still wading through Dean's memories and getting to really breakdown who Dean Winchester really was. One thing for sure, Dean would never have been comfortable with the outfit Michael had in mind. The surly hunter hated anything pretentious and was never more happier than when relaxed behind the wheel of his car in flannel and denim. 'Oh Dean, the looks the first thing to go but it's just the start.'

On entering the shop, the sales assistant caught Michael's eye. At first as she looked at what he was wearing she seemed to dismiss him, but at second glance, she recognised that the man who had just walked into her shop had a unique presence. It was so strong she ignored her standard training that would have ignored the potential customer on the grounds that he couldn't afford to buy anything in the store. But not this one. As she moved to intercept the tall and handsome customer, Michael smiled and decided to use some of that charm he knew was locked within his vessel. "Good afternoon. I am in dire need of proper attire. As you can see my wardrobe is atrocious and due to a loss of luggage I'm having to rough it, but I will need at least three if not four functional suits… Oh and I want the best quality…. Nora." The assistant's eyes went wide and her eagerness to please the high value customer was very apparent. "Certainly sir, I'm so sorry to hear about your misfortune. I know you must feel so out of sorts, but never fear, our fine establishment only produce tailored suits for true gentlemen and leaders amongst men. I'm sure it will be no problem to secure a few suits for you."

Michael nodded. "Excellent. I also will need all the basics as well plus any trimmings. I need to be dressed to fit with my position." Nora steered the handsome customer towards the private fitting room and rushed to provide visuals of all the options available. It didn't take long as the Michael knew exactly the look he was aiming for. Within 40 minutes, the archangel was standing in a beautiful three piece suit, with crisp white shirt, a wine coloured tie with gold paisley style pattern and a three quarter length over coat. He had also secured two other suits and a tuxedo. He really liked the look but felt it was missing something. Thankfully he identified what was missing and lifted a grey peaked cap.

The sales assistant had managed to gather everything else into two large bags and had placed them at his side. She hovered around the cash till. After a few seconds she seemed to become uncomfortable and then coughed. It took Michael some time to realise that she was expecting to be rewarded for her service. Michael remembered that this world worked with money and unfortunately for Nora, he didn't have a cent to his name. Smiling he raised his hand and flipped his finger and the main door was locked. She jumped at the noise and stepped back from the till as if hoping that somehow a foot further away would save her. "Ms Beattie.. Or may I call you Nora?" The assistant looked surprise. "how, ho… how did you know my name? I didn't tell you my last name?" The archangel tilted his head to the side, " oh Nora, I know everything about you and I must say you performed excellently today but I'm afraid that I don't carry money on me at this moment in time and I'm thinking that I need to keep a low profile, so I'm just going to say thank you and good…" As he went to complete his sentence he clicked his fingers and her neck was snapped. She fell to the ground as he said, "… bye."

Michael exited the shop and turned the open sign to closed as he went. He had been tempted to smite her but he was aware that hunters would be tracking him soon and he didn't want a trail. As he walked a few steps he turned down a side street and vanished back to his new headquarters. There he took some time to make things the way he wanted and needed things to be and then he sat down and looked into the mirror. 'Now that I've dealt with the outside, it's time I got to work on the inside.' With that thought, he looked into the mirror and entered his mind, this time in search of Dean.

Dean's POV:

Dean woke to his face planted squarely in his beloved pillow. His head hurt like a son of bitch but he was sure that his disorientation this morning was due to nothing more serious than a heavy night of drinking. As he attempted to get up his entire body spasmed in pain. 'This can't be right, can it? Come on man, you've had bigger hangovers than this. Mmmmm. I must be getting to old for this shit.' It took him four attempts, but he safely managed to throw his legs out of bed. 'Now for the basics, shower, shave and shi…' BANG! CRASH! "What the fuck was that?, SAM what the hell are you doing now? Can't a man get some peace and quiet around here?" Dean's morning ramble was met with…. Silence. Dean glanced over towards his alarm clock to see it was in fact, no longer morning, but late afternoon. 'What the hell? Why'd I sleep so late? More importantly, why hasn't the giant of a brother not been in to kick me out of bed already?'

After shouting Sam's name a few more times, he grabbed his boots and put on an over shirt. Dean decided it was best to have a 'whores bath' instead of a much needed relaxing warm shower, given it was the afternoon and everything in his gut told him something was wrong and he had to wake up and investigate. Sighing, Dean looked towards his bedroom door. If he was being completely honest with himself, it was less tiredness and hangover, and more reluctance to engage with the newest inhabitants of the bunker, that kept him from leaving the room. It wasn't personal and it wasn't that he didn't love the idea of having more help, it's just he hated that 'his home' had been invaded. In short, he no longer had a home and that sad thought weighed heavily in his mind. Hence, he continued to be in no real rush to leave the peace and quiet of his room and engage with whoever or whatever had created the ruckus he had heard. But, strangely it was the continued silence that set Dean's 'spidey sense' off.

After listening for further noise, Dean decided he needed to go and check this out. His fears grew as he entered the kitchen and found nothing or no one. 'At 4.22pm this place should be alive, or at least the coffee machine should be working overtime by now.' As he looked across the room at the most important machine in the bunker, he saw it set empty and unused. 'Strange, there's no way sasquatch, never name 20+ burly seasoned hunters/survivors managed to go a whole day without a cup of the strong stuff. No way. I repeat again, what the hell is going on?' He stood for over 2 minutes contemplating whether coffee and a bacon sandwich fix would settle him, but he weirdly didn't feel hungry. Sore, stiff and a little out of kilter, but not hungry. 'This is just wrong. I should be starving and ready to eat an entire pig!'

Leaving the kitchen, the Dean made his way up the small set of stairs into the main set of rooms. Earlier, when he was getting ready, he swore he had heard a noise coming from the main room, but as he entered the map room and library he was welcomed by a whole lot of nothing. Dean wasn't one to panic, but the fact that there was something really wrong, but he had currently no one to blame, or nothing to kill, was really starting to make him apprehensive. He raised his hands and ran them through his hair leaving it sticking up and messed, but he didn't care, because why worry, there was no one here to see him. "Sam, Mum, Jack, CAS? Anyone? … Come on guys, jokes over. Very funny.." As Dean was speaking, he knew deep down no one was playing a joke on him. So, he slowly moved towards various weapons that he had secretly and not so secretly stashed around the room.

After the map room, Dean did a complete sweep of the bunker. He even ventured into rooms he had never had cause to visit before. At the end of it, 'butt kiss,' absolutely nothing. There wasn't a living soul down in the bunker, which by now was very quickly becoming more like a tomb to him. Running everything over in his head, he recalled Sam's room. When he had searched it, he had found clothes and books scattered all over the place, but nothing that screamed there had been a struggle or that his brother had left the room in a hurry. It was just his brother's normal untidy room. But the empty bunker had started to ring his alarm bells for sure, so by the time he had explored the entire bunker Dean was almost at DEFCON 1.

Knowing something was majorly wrong, Dean ran towards his room and checked his phone. It had bars so he began to phone his brother but, despite the phone looked active and ringing, there was nothing but static at the other end. Dropping the phone on his bed he ran back to the map room and sat down beside Sam's computer. Entering the password, he managed to get on to the internet, but it wouldn't go past the Home Page. "Damnit! Bloody technology!" Frustrated he banged the table a few times and then sat back. As he lent back he studied the staircase and looked up. 'Of course, you idiot. Door. Outside. Go get help.' Immediately, he sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and managed to open the door and ran outside. What he saw broke his heart. After minor adjustment, Dean realised he was back in the map room again, looking at the library. "Awhhhh, COME ON!"

Dean tried to fight the despair that was engulfing him. He could take any type of torture. Cut him, drown him, electrocute him, hell even eat him piece by piece but please don't put him in a room (no matter what size) and leave him alone with no one to talk to and no means of escaping and interacting with the world. This was hell for him and he knew that any prolonged amount of time in this strange eerie bunker world was going to drive him slowly insane. He had to escape. He had to get help. 'Help. That's right. I'm sitting with so much lore and magic spells at my fingers tips, I don't need technology, I have magic, determination and a give them hell attitude. So come on Winchester, get your shit together and get this done.' Re-energised, Dean skipped towards a shelf full of books and after browsing he lifted about five different books and took them back to the table. Smiling he opened them and yet again his heart sank. After the first page, there was just nothing but blank pages. "No. No, no, no, NO!"

Faced with no more ideas, Dean broke down. Flying books was the first indication that all was not well with the older Winchester, but this was followed by two table lamps hitting the nearest wall and then by one of the wooden chairs. His hands went to his hair again as he pulled until he felt pain. He already knew he was definitely not dreaming, but this was a nightmare. As his tantrum starting to die down, he managed to slide down the nearest wall onto his backside and bury his head in his hands. He fought back tears because his pride told him, whoever had done this to him was most likely watching, and he refused to give him, her, it or them the satisfaction. And there he sat for well over an hour in silence, with nothing but his own mind to keep him company. Try as he might, he wrecked his brains for any memory from before he went to sleep, but there was nothing. That thought alone told him that his nightmare was most likely only starting.

Dean didn't know how long he sat on the cold, hard ground. He knew it had been a while, because his ass was numb and his hip was beginning to go stiffen. Since his tantrum, he had spent a lot of time thinking over the possibilities. He knew it wasn't a dream, or he was at least 80-90% sure it wasn't a dream. Or at least the type of dream you happily woke up from. He also knew there was something off about the actual bunker. Though it was strange there were no others present, Dean's teeth were on edge because there was something not quite right about the building or even its furniture. Sadly, try as he did, he couldn't quite 'put his finger' on what was wrong. He knew the blank pages in the book were a clue, but he wasn't sure as what it could mean. But the most sinister of all was the fact that there was no access to the outside world. In short, he was in a very big prison cell. He had comfort, but he was still imprisoned and currently there was no ways and means of escape.

To add insult to injury, Dean still had not found out what had initially caused the crashing noise. Something had to have made it. So where did it happen? What or who caused it? And is it friend or foe? Depressed at being no closer to finding an answer to any of the questions, and feeling strangely tired, Dean turned and started to walk out of the room and towards his bedroom. It was then that he heard the flutter of feathers. "Oh thank God! Cas, is that y…" Dean stopped mid-sentence as he turned and took in the newest visitor to his prison. His eyes went wide as he came face to face a mirror image of himself.

For once in Dean's life he was speechless. There were no witty retorts or remarks. There was no aggressive posturing. He just stood there, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. Dean took a few seconds to take in the entire figure standing in front of him. Yes, it looked like him, but it was dressed immaculately. But it wasn't the clothes that looked different, it was the body language and the look within the eyes. This version of himself screamed of something different, something malevolent. Dean stared at his doppleganger, and his doppleganger stared right back at him. It was unnerving to watch his other self, but shocked as he was, there had to be a simple explanation for it. His first thought was shapeshifter but he quickly dismissed that theory and then it hit him. The shock must have shifted things in his memory, but suddenly the books and the bunker made sense. He raised his head back up to meet his twin's glare and before he could think about his words, he uttered, "Oh bollocks!"

Michael's POV:

"Oh bollocks!" If Michael was honest, he had been expecting a number of remarks and curses to pass Dean's mouth but he had to hand it to the hunter, this remark was just priceless and in many ways perfect. The archangel took in the dishevelled figure that was Dean Winchester in front of him. It had been just over three days since he had taken over his vessel, and for over two and a half of those days he had deliberately kept the hunter in a deep sleep. He had thought it better to use that time to recharge himself as well as become a little bit more familiar with his vessel and his surroundings.

As he looked Dean up and down he remained quiet. He was keen to see what impact a few hours isolation had on the hunter. Michael knew too well Dean's weaknesses. After all, he had spent considerable time over the first day in the hunter's mind. Picking through all the proper intelligence about Dean, hunters, hunting and about this world. From probing and research, the archangel was becoming very familiar with his vessel. From a mere glance, he could tell Dean was on edge. His prison had seriously rattled the hunter. Secondly, as Dean now knew where he was trapped and what had happened to him, Michael could tell the hunter had explored everything and realised he had no options on how to escape.

Thirdly, Michael could see how tired Dean was. He smiled to himself as he knew why this was the case. In fact, it had been the first thing he had done when he took over. Afterall, he had to ensure that Dean did not find the strength from within to do breakthrough and take back control. Michael had learned from Lucifer's mistake with Sam, who had taken control at a critical moment and destroyed all of his brother's plans. Michael would not chance Dean Winchester trying to recapture his own body. So he had started the soul bonding process earlier than normal. It would take time, and as Dean's resolve would start to give in, the bonding or melding of Dean's soul to his grace would grow. Eventually, the bond would be completed and then there would never be any chance of separation, never name escape. But as Michael looked at the tired hunter in front of him he remained silent, as he waited on the hunter to break first, because that was what he was here to do. Break Dean Winchester.

Deans eyes slid from side to side. It was clear the human was thinking things over. Of course, Michael didn't have to probe too much to hear Dean's thoughts, but he felt it was better to give the soul some semblance of normality and even the façade of control. So he waited. After a few uncomfortably silent minutes Dean eventually spoke. "Seriously, you come across an entire universe and you decide firstly, that I'm the best face to wear and secondly, THAT suit is want you come up with!" 'Of course, the basic Dean Winchester defence, so you're going with the cheap insult?' Smiling and then raising his arms in a 'what do you think gesture' and following it with a twirl, Michael spoke, "Whatta you think? Do you not like? Ahh, as always you see yourself as unworthy. Well, don't be too hard on yourself. You're a good looking man. In fact, some, and I mean me, would say, you're perfect. Now, as for the clothes, I felt that your style was unbefitting of our status now. I mean, let's face it Dean. We're no longer flannel wearing trash. No. With me on board now, calling the shots, we're going to be going places and meeting important people. And one thing I learned very quickly about this world is, it's all about having the looks, the style and the confidence. Emm, what's the phrase you would use. Ahh yes. Sorta fake it until you make it. But unfortunately, Dean, as you and I both know, as the strongest and oldest archangel, I don't need to fake it and I. will. Make. It!"

Dean's body language told Michael the hunter was uncomfortable but trying to cover it. He was nervous and fidgety, moving about and shuffling his feet. Then Dean stopped and his eyes went wide. "What do you mean, WE? The last time I checked, I'm on lock down while you're out on the town, probably a town about 1000 miles and about 100 years away from here by the look of the dress code!" Michael didn't reply, instead he tilted his head slightly and smirked. This tended to make Dean uncomfortable. He stammered a little. "I, I , I'm jus, just saying, you know. Just with the hat and all and the waist coat…. Emm, but seriously though. Answer me, what's with the 'we'?"

"Yes…. We…. That's a good question and WE'LL get to that eventually. But before we do, I thought we would relax, after all you have plenty of time, so it's time we had a talk, don't you?" Michael wasn't really expecting a response, so he thought he would start his 'get to know you' conversation. "Let's see Dean, where to start with you? Mmmmm…. Let's start with how're you doing? Do you like your new home?" Dean's mouth dropped open at the question. "Seriously, this is how you're going about this? Really? Ahhh, OK, I'll bite. Well Mike, you don't mind if I call you Mike, cause, let's face it we're a 'WE' now aren't WE?" Michael bit his lip a little but remained silent. With nothing to work off, Dean continued. "Oh! OK, well Mike, I have to say that I'm loving the peace and quiet but, you know, it's sort of stopping me from emmm, let me think, oh yes,…. hunting, or getting out for a burger or… having a frickin' life! What a fucking question to ask me. You've trapped me in this tomb. You've created a prison in my mind, blocking me from getting out and stopping your evil ass from hurting innocent people. You've taken me away from my family and friends but most of all you're violating me every second you possess me. You're using my body as a weapon and I can't tell if these hands have hurt someone I love. SO HOW THE FUCK TO YOU THINK I'M FEELING YOU BASTARD?" By the end of the tirade, Dean was up in Michael's face, but the archangel didn't more. He didn't even flinch. Instead he just stood motionlessly and let Dean rant. Of course, this made Dean even madder. "DON'T DO THIS TO ME. ….. WHY DO YOU NEED ME? TELL ME. THIS ISN'T WHO I AM. YOU KNOW WHAT, WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME. DO YOU HEAR ME YOU SON OF A BITCH. KILL ME!"

Dean stopped talking. He stepped back, chest moving up and down as he gasped for additional breath as his fists clinched by his sides. Michael moved his head, tilting it to the opposite side. He pondered his 'swords' words for a moment. Then the archangel nodded and raised his eyes to Deans' again. "I understand, having no control would destroy me too, but Dean I can assure you of one thing, I will not be letting you go. Soooo, no escaping for you. And just to make it real simple for you. It means, I won't be letting either your meat suit or your soul go Dean. Yes Dean. I could release your soul and send you to heaven but I'm afraid, that's not on the cards for you. You're staying right where you are. Look around you, this is your domain. You can make it your home or your prison, but you can never leave. You see you're mine now. I own you. So stop bitching and complaining because the sooner you accept that the easier this world I have created for you will be."

Michael's words were having an effect on Dean. The hunter seemed to be beyond upset, but the archangel could tell, Dean was trying to keep in control. After a number of deep breaths, Dean seemed to be a little calmer. The hunter was processing everything. It was obvious he was looking for anything to help him out of his situation, but Michael knew differently. Dean breathed in and then asked, "What do you mean by that?" Michael looked a little confused by the question, but he knew Dean was having none of it. "Don't give me that face. You know what you're doing. One thing I learned about you is that you are all about violence and war. You're strategic, and to me, that means everything you say and do has purpose, so don't bullshit a bullshitter. What the hell do you mean?" Michael had been listening. 'I must give you credit Dean, you are smarter than you look and act.' The archangel pursed his lips. "OK Dean, I'll answer your question, in fact, I'll even monologue like all the villains you watch in your beloved movies. Maybe tell you a little about my plans. How does that sound? Buttttt, to get the ball rolling, why don't you answer a few of my questions first. Don't worry, they're not too difficult. In fact, I plan to ask a lot of people the same question, so no need to worry. Too much. OK?" Dean must have resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get all his questions answered unless he played along. "Yeah, OK, Knock yourself out!"

Michael moved closer to him and suggested that they sit down and make themselves more comfortable. Dean reluctantly agreed. It was obvious that the hunter was trying to not relax too much, just in case he had to jump into action and defend himself. Once seated, Michael crossed his legs and then brought both hands together to rest on his elevated knee. The move seemed to intrigue as well as unnerve his vessel. Sighing loudly, Michael began. "Thank you Dean. I understand that you're angry. I understand that you feel deceived and just want your freedom. I really do. But, I am on a mission. A mission from my father and I've been sent to this world with just one simple order. Do you know what that is?" Dean was listening so much, he didn't even realised that he was actually supposed to guess an answer. Michael smiled and continued. "Of course you wouldn't. My father spoke through Kevin over a year ago, and since then I've been following signs, visions and messages sent by our God. And it's simple, I'm here to build a better world."

Michael paused so his vessel could take the message clearly in. Dean seemed to look at him as if Michael had two heads. The archangel got a clearer insight into Dean's feelings when the hunter began to laugh. It wasn't a small giggle. No. Dean was bent over laughing loudly. He kept shaking his head and trying to say something over and over again, but it didn't make sense. If Michael was honest, this was not the reaction he expected, and as such, was getting rather annoyed. "What's so funny Dean? Surely building a better world is what everyone should want, where's the humour in that?" Dean raised his hands as he attempted to break the news to the archangel. "Oh Mikey. Here I was thinking, you're one big tough archangel. God's right hand general, who managed to conquer his own earth. But you just give up all that because a neurotic prophet told you he heard voices which ordered you leave your world and come here and make a 'better world'. God, you sound like a beauty pageant contestant, spewing out dribble about wanting 'world peace!' Sorry. I'm sorry but could your dad not have been a bit more specific? I mea…."

Dean stopped speaking. It was obvious, he realised Michael was furious. Michael didn't speak, but sadly, the only warning Dean got before he was hit with crushing pain throughout his body, was the flash of blue in Michael's eyes. The pain was like nothing Dean had even encountered before. He screamed and then hit the ground and rolled into a ball. As quickly as it had started, the pain stopped. Michael looked down to see the human remain in the foetal position with his arms braced against his ribs. "Sorry Dean, but I need to press home with you just how serious this is. When my Father gives me an order, it's very important to me and by extension, I expect you to take it seriously too. So, I'm going to ask you to consider how you answer going forward." Dean was now struggling to get to his feet. Michael's patience was running out, so he decided to expedite matters and just lifted Dean by his shirt and t-shirt and plunked him down on the nearest chair.

"Soooooo.. Dean. …. Dean. Look at me. That's a good boy. Let's begin. I just want to know one little thing. What do you want?"

"Come again? You want to know, what do I want? Are you serious? I've just told you at least twice since you got here. I want out of here. I want you gone, back to your own universe. Am I speaking in a different language?" As Michael moved closer, Dean must of sensed what the archangel was planning to do, because he added, "and, before your eyes glow blue and I enter a world of pain, AGAIN, I am being honest with you. That is what I frickin' well want. I want my freedom and I believe with all my heart and soul that this world would be a better world if you were NOT. IN, IT!"

It took every ounce of control within Michael not to just smite Dean Winchester were he sat. But as he give further thought, he understood that on this occasion, Dean was not being an asshole, he was actually being honest. Michael could feel the honest intention coming from his vessel in waves of emotion. So instead of further violence, Michael continued to speak. "Of course I know that you want your freedom Dean, but that's not what I meant. I'm really asking you the big question, that many of your kind, I mean humans, regularly ask, what do you want from life? What would a better world look like?"

Dean sat still for what felt like hours, then he spoke. "Phewww, …. Well you certainly know how to start with the easy one. Do you know if anyone had the answer to that question, they would be extremely rich and successful, but I hate to break it to you, mmmmm, you'll never get the answer to that. Do you know why? Because it doesn't exist and those who think they can achieve it or either a daydreamer, delusional or, as in your case, an insane dictator. So, why don't you just do your glowy eye thing and get on with dishing out the pain to me, because I can't even begin to attempt to answer it."

Michael smiled and even give a little laugh. "Ahhhh, Dean, Dean, Dean. That's what I've come to love about you. Yes, I know you're stubborn and at times, immensely irritating, but, you're honest and genuine. What you see is what you get with you, isn't it? All you want in life is to enjoy the little victories, help and save as many people as possible, and who can forget, you just want your family to be safe and happy. If only other humans could be as simple and as innocent as you. You know, I was going through some of your memories. I have to say this, it's a mess in there. Buttttt, I came across your simple desire to retire and sit on a beach with your brother and… the traitor Ca… the angel, and enjoy the little luxuries in life. Dean, think about it. Really think about it. You're tired of being the first, and at times, the only line of defence against the supernatural. Imagine a world were there's no more evil?"

Dean seemed to know what was coming next as he interrupted Michael. "You know, that's not the first time I've heard that song before Michael. And it's always from some maniacal dictating S.O.B. who believes that his way is the best and only way to paradise. The world is full of assholes just like you. In fact, I may be a simple man to you, but I'm not stupid. I know my limitations, but sadly you don't. You think you can create the perfect world. Well, from what I saw of your last attempt buddy, I would seriously suggest you think again. You're no different from every other big bad that I've had to deal with all my life. Would you like me to list them. I know you've had a rummage about in my head, but it seems you didn't get the message, but let me clarify it for you. Lucifer, Amara, Dick frickin Roman or should I say the leader of the Leviathans, Eve, the mother of all Monsters, Azazel and even your brother Raphael. I'm sure I've left others out, but you know what they all have in common? ME! Me and my little brother. That's what. Each and every time, Sam and I kicked their asses back to wherever they crawled out of and YOU are no different PAL!"

Michael was furious. Dean was his vessel, but he was not worthy of passing judgement on the archangel - the right hand of God. 'How dare you. You insignificant little ant. You may be my true vessel, but you over estimate your significance in the grand scheme. I may have your body but you will give me your soul. You're pathetic human morals and opinions will not stand in my way of achieving my vision.' Michael rose abruptly from the chair. He could tell that Dean was getting more nervous as he physically jumped at Michael's sudden movements. 'Good, good Dean. You should be afraid, pity you hadn't read between the lines before you opened your mouth. But at least your honesty has helped me see through my obsession with you. You need a strong hand now, if I'm to 'persuade' you of supporting my plan.' Without speaking, Michael backhanded the hunter. It had to have hurt, as Michael could hear the noise of breaking bones, as his hand hit Dean. He could also hear the thud as Dean's body crashed to the ground after it. Though, gratifying as it was to physically hurt his vessel, it wasn't enough. He needed to ram home his point.

"Dean. Oh Dean. I wish you had have been in a more receptive mood to my proposal. You could have been happy here, we could have decorated your world when you learned to accept it. Maybe even populate it with friends to entertain you, but you had to dig your heels in. That Winchester stubborn streak just had to appear. But don't worry, we have plenty of time to reach an understanding. And we will." Dean was still on the floor, but at least he had managed to sit upright as he held his jaw. He glared at Michael. "Never. You'll just have to kill me, besides take all the time in the world, because I'm not giving you any help. So go FUCK yourself!" Without another word, Michael reached out and touched his forehead and Dean's world went dark.

Dean's POV:

Dean felt pain coursing throughout his body. That was the first sensation he experienced as he began to come back to consciousness. Everywhere ached, even his face, that's why he refused to open his eyes. He moved from his side onto his back but still he wouldn't open his eyes. He lay still trying to work out everything from why he was in pain to what had happened to him now? Sadly, Dean didn't get a chance to ponder too long on the questions, as he felt a hand by his forehead. Normally, he wouldn't be to concerned, but alarm bells began to ring when the same hand began to stroke his hair, almost in a loving manner. Dean knew such an action was meant to be non-threatening, but as he went through his options of who the hand could possibly belong to his options were limited. 'Sam, Cas, Jack, mum, or Bobby? Oh God, please let it be mum doing this. Sam maybe, but anyone else was just a little too close. A little too intimate for anyone that wasn't a family member or best friend.' So, decision made, he mumbled, "Mum, is that you?" The answer he received led to his eyes flying wide open, followed by a swatting at said hands and a frantic struggle to put as much distance between himself and that voice.

Dean's head and shoulders hit the wooden head board of his bed. He had nowhere else to go. His eyes stared at the offending hands that had violated his personal space, and as he raised his eyes all the way up to the all familiar face of himself, or as he now remembered, Michael, he was in shock. Dean just stared as his memories kicked in, everything from waking up the first time in the empty bunker to the previous conversation with Michael. As he remembered the pain, confusion rose within him. He knew the archangel was angry, but this didn't explain the soft, and what he felt was a loving caress from Michael. Dean felt very vulnerable and exposed. It wasn't helped by how close Michael was sitting to him on the bed, as well as how he stared right at him. As he got ready to speak he found his mouth and lips extremely dry. 'How long was I out?' Licking his lips to try and get moisture, Dean managed to croak out, "What the hell!"

"Ahh, you're finally awake. It's time you got up so we can continue our little conversation. I'm sure you're hungry and will probably want to freshen up. I'll see you in the kitchen. Don't take too long." Dean just looked at him. He was speechless, not just because he was afraid. He was in shock, in fact, shock probably wasn't accurate, it felt more like he was experiencing some sort of whiplash from the sudden jolt in Michael's personality. He sat for a few minutes trying to work out a course of action, but sadly realised that with no apparent escape, his only option was to engage directly with his captor. So without too much angsting, he rose from his bed, and grabbed a towel and toiletries and made his way towards the shower. As he entered the shower room he kept debating whether he needed to wash, considering he had no physical body and was trapped inside his own brain, showering and even eating were possible redundant, but he overruled those thoughts. His logic was simple, whether he was real or not, in the corporal sense, the very action of getting clean and fed meant he held on to normalcy and to his own sense of humanity. So he would keep doing this until he was free or dead, whichever came first. With the decision made, he stripped naked and rejoiced in the feeling a hot shower give him. He would deny that more than a few tears were shed as he let the water run down his face.

Sadly, try as he might, Dean couldn't put off the inevitable. He remembered Michael's polite warning of not taking too long, so Dean tied his bootlaces and straightened his overshirt and made his way towards the kitchen. On arrival, he was surprised to see a table filled with food. In fact, it was filled with every breakfast favourite Dean could imagine. He couldn't help it as his mouth watered at the all too tempting smell. Forgetting for a second the enemy opposite him, he sat down at the table and delved right in. After a few 'mmmms' and 'ahhhhs' Dean seemed to come back to himself and to the current predicament he found himself in. Sensing the change in his body language, Michael spoke up. "No need to stop on my account Dean. You will have guessed by now that you don't actually need food here, but it does pass the time, doesn't it. Besides, in here, you can eat anything and everything your heart desires."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can have anything. Except my freedom, isn't that right?" Dean snarked out before thinking. Thankfully, Michael seemed to be in a mellow mood. 'Don't poke the bear dude. He mightn't want to kill me, but I'm sure he can make life pretty unbearable. Stow your crap and focus on getting the hell out of here.' With that thought, Dean decided to change tact on the archangel. "Alright, ignoring the elephant in the room for the moment, let's start again. Let's start with something as simple as, emmmm, how long was I out for this time?"

Michael just smiled. "Thank you Dean. If I'm honest, I'm liking this more agreeable you. It suits you and if anything it will make life more bearable for you in the long run. Who knows I might let you catch a glimpse of the real world, but only if you're a good boy." Dean took in the smug look of his own face. As he did, he couldn't help but understand how the countless number of assholes he had encountered throughout his life, felt by that same smug look he had used on so many occasions. There and then, he swore if he ever escaped, he would rethink some of his facial expressions. He was surprised he had survived that long. Michael moving to sit down, snapped Dean out of his reverie. He still needed an answer and the bastard was very good at evading any of his questions so far.

As if Michael had read his mind, he continued. "You were out for about four days in here." Dean was confused by that. "what do you mean 'in here'?" Snorting, Michael replied. "Oh, it's a bit like Hell, Dean. You know with the time thing. In here, you were unconscious for about 96 hours, but out there in the real world, it was more like nearly three hours, give or take. Don't worry, you didn't miss much." The hunter was relieved but also disturbed, that was a heck of a long time to have been out cold. "So, what did I miss? I mean, I'm sure you didn't sit stroking my head in a creepy stalkerish way. Wanna fill me in on what's happening? Evil plans and all that crap."

Dean wasn't expecting an evil villain style speech, but Michael seemed to be in a chatty mood. Considering his position, Dean felt this was a good result, so he wasn't prepared to interrupt. Any and all information could be vital both in escaping and later on, possibly stopping the archangel.

"Don't worry Dean, your innocence is intact. As connected as we are I wouldn't take advantage of you. Besides, as our bond grows, you will come to me and want to connect with me. So, you see there's no need to push myself upon you. You'll…" Dean was beyond horrified at what he was hearing. "STOP! What do you mean by bond?" Michael shifted in his seat as if he was considered how best to break some critical information he had been keeping from the hunter. "Maybe I should start at the beginning. It may be easier for you to both understand and accept. Finish your food and we'll move to the library and to more comfortable seats." Dean wanted to fight, but he recognised an order and as part of him felt he wasn't keen to hear what the explanation was, he knew he needed to know.

Fifteen minutes later, Dean gingerly found a comfortable seat. At no time did the hunter take his eyes off the archangel. As he had eaten his food, he had had some time to consider all the options. His thoughts had led him to many dark places and as a result his anxiety had increased. The result was very evident, as his leg bounced up and down, as his body tried to expel nervous energy. "OK, let's get this over with. Spill on everything."

"Where to begin? Mmmmm. OK, let's start with the basics, shall we! Do you understand the difference between a vessel and a true vessel Dean? …. Of course you don't. As you know, an angel can take a vessel, but only with permission, but their true vessel is determined via bloodlines. The exact genetic coding via bloodlines such as Campbell and Winchester produced not just Lucifer's true vessel, but mine. But Dean, have you ever wondered, why your brother's soul wasn't sent to Heaven when Lucifer took possession, all those years ago?" When it happened, Dean hadn't really had the time or the inclination to consider this important question, but Michael was correct, it would have been so much simpler for Lucifer to have jettisoned Sam's soul. It would have meant that Sam would never have been able to take back control. At this thought, he raised his eyes to meet Michael's eyes, He didn't need to communicate his answer, Michael could tell.

"It's about the soul, Dean. The body and the bloodline make's the angel/vessel compatible, but Lucifer kept your brother's soul because of it's power. You see, the human soul is a source of immense power and when an angel harnesses it from within it's true vessel, it can increase that angel's strength and grace at least ten fold. The angel is even more powerful when the soul agrees and bonds to the angel. What I mean is they bond and become connected at a cellular level. It's what every angel and even archangel craves. It completes them." Michael stopped, as if to allow this information to sink in. Dean had been listening to every word. As he did, his anxiety increased. He knew that there was something more. Something he knew he wasn't going to like, something that would mean a world of shit for him.

"Now Dean, do you know why you are referred to as my sword?" Dean looked anywhere but at Michael. He had considered that particular question many years ago, but Dean always thought it was just fancy wording in books. Probably placed by angels who wanted to honour Michael in some way. But now, as he took in the Michael's words, as well as some of the phrases the archangel had mentioned as well as the looks the angel had given him, his blood ran cold. After a few minutes, Dean realised that Michael was expecting him to at least to attempt an answer. As he went to speak, he realised that through his nerves, his mouth was dry. Licking his lips to get some moisture, he decided to deflect away from his growing fears. "I just assumed it was so Zachariah and his buddies could kiss your ass a little bit by playing to your ego. I'm mean there's got to be better ways of polishing the fact that I would be condemned to a lifetime of being an 'angel condom'. Hence, I just reckoned 'sword' was a Heaven's way of 'polishing this particular turd!' Am I wrong?"

"Ahh Dean, you would just love that to be the case, wouldn't you? But as always, you think so little of yourself, don't you? You wish you were like everyone else. But I hate to break it to you, you never were and you never had a chance. Surely, my other self, told you that there wasn't a choice? You see, Lucifer could never refer to your brother as his sword, because the difference is in the soul Dean. Your soul to be specific. You see, you are so very special Dean. Do you ever wonder why angels tell you that your soul is so bright? You don't need to lie to me, I know they have. I mean even my father and aunt Amara are obsessed with you in their own way, but you never wondered why?" Dean was getting pissed by the pompous way Michael was preaching at him. "Yeah, because I'm so special, I have an amazing life! Get to the point Michael, I would say daylight's a burning, but I can't leave this bloody prison to find out."

"Very well Dean. Your soul is unique. One would say, it's one in a billion, no, 7 billion. It's what is referred to as the 'All Soul.' I know you're looking at me in complete confusion. The All Soul is that one special soul that is so powerful, it's what we would call a 'game changer'. That's why my father refers to you as the 'last defence'. It's also the reason why Amara was obsessed with you and wanted to bind your soul to her essence. Your soul is so bright and powerful, she could see past all the wards that dad has placed to hide you. She had to have you, but you were promised to me and to me alone. You were my reward from father for sticking with him when Lucifer rebelled. But like any prize, the greater the reward, the greater the sacrifice. And believe you me Dean, if you could sense how powerful your soul is, you would understand that there was no competition. I would have destroyed universes and all my brothers and sisters, if it meant being bound to you, my All Soul. But like everything, there are rules and like any vessel, for me to harness all of that beautiful soul power, I need a willing and agreeable soul bond. So you see Dean, I was never going to release your soul, because it wasn't about your meatsuit, it was always about you."

Dean couldn't hear any more. The ramifications of Michael's words were beginning to sink in. "No. This is more of the same angel bullshit, that you and your brother Lucifer have been peddling all our lives. You'll say anything won't you, but…" Dean was stopped mid rant as Michael placed his hand to Dean's mouth. In an instant, Dean was silenced. Michael also took the opportunity to immobilise him. He did not wish for any distractions or further debate.

"Forgive me Dean, but I cannot have you interrupting me. It's time you understood what your true destiny is. You really are ignorant aren't you. You really don't see how important you actually are. You've always thought yourself disposable and unimportant. But you're not. Don't you see, over 13 months ago, your soul was so powerful, that my prophet could foretell of your coming in an entirely different universe. The prophet spoke of your arrival and of our inevitable bonding. But he warned of hardship and challenges. The road would be long and difficult and I would have to be patient. So I waited and I watched and I planned. And then I felt the creation of the rift and I knew this was the beginning of it. Do you know how difficult it was to not just throw every plan aside, and rush and take you when you first arrived? The moment you set foot in my universe, my grace flared. I felt the connection. But I knew there were rules. If I broke them, I would never get that all important little yes from you. And that was critical. So with a heavy heart and with such pain from being separated from your soul, the rift closed taking you away from me. Do you know how excruciatingly agonising that was?"

Dean was really afraid. Michael was in full flow. He was scared to interrupt, but it was becoming very clear to him, just how seriously screwed he was. He nervously shifted in his seat, but didn't dare speak. Michael continued. "Lucifer and your mother were a great distraction and a fabulous source of information on you. But I had to be careful, this Lucifer was as cunning and as smart as my own Lucifer and he could never know my plans. If he did, the first thing he would do, is destroy you. So I used my time well. Hidden under all my questions about this world, I found out everything I could about you. What made you tick. Why did Michael fail to get the yes from you all those years ago? I spent weeks interrogating him. I even allowed him to escape because I knew he would somehow get news back to you that your mum was alive. Ahhh, your mum…" Michael stopped mid sentence.

"What about my mum? What did you do to her you son of a bitch?" Dean struggled to move. Hoping that his anger would somehow break Michaels' hold on him. Sadly, he was unsuccessful, so he resulted to glaring at the archangel. Of course, his actions seemed to please the archangel. Realising this, he stopped.

"With Lucifer, the information was tactical. It was about understanding why the other me failed. But you're mum. Interrogating your mum, was all about getting to understand more about you and what makes you tick Dean." Dean took in Michael's words. Everything the archangel had said to him was incredibly unsettling and obsessive. As Dean took in the distant look in Michael's eyes, he couldn't help wonder what Michael was thinking about. Almost as if the archangel had read his mind, he spoke again. "I'm not sure whether it's because she's your blood relative or even that she looks like you, but…. Emm.. I felt a strong connection to her. I found her a great source of relief for me all those months that I waited for you to revisit my world. I was furious when the nephilim and Mary escaped. Butttt, it was meant to be. Kevin Tran foresaw it."

Dean wanted to ask more about how his mother was treated, but he knew the answer was going to make him physically sick and he needed to focus on how, if possible, he could escape. Before Dean could ask anything, Michael continued his monologue. Of course, the nephilim had to play his role. Do you think it was easy Dean? I mean, at any time I could have crushed the boy like a bug under my feet, but the prophet had been clear, he had to live as he and I would fight in this world. But more importantly, he would help deliver you to me. So I have to watch as the half breed took on my lieutenants and win time and time again. But I am loyal to my father's word and I waited. And you did not disappoint Dean. You see, I felt you come back to me. You travelled with another. I knew I had to let you go that time too, but I couldn't help myself I had to meet you so I dropped by and you did not disappoint me, even when you were injured. Oh you're welcome by the way."

Dean processed all the information but was confused when Michael said 'you're welcome by the way.' "What now?" Smiling at Dean's confusion, Michael continued. "The human bounty hunter that had the audacity to touch you, never name wound you. We'll let's just say he won't be doing that again. You see Dean, he touched what wasn't his and he paid the price." Dean's alarm bells had been ringing constantly since waking up, but the more Michael spoke, the more unnerved Dean got. The archangel wasn't just a zealot and a dictator, he was possessive and obsessed when it came to Dean. None of this boded well for compromise or escape, but try as he might, Dean couldn't even find an angle to work. He had considered playing on the obsession, but there was no chance Michael would let him have any modicum of control when he could keep him here indefinitely.

"The rebels grew more confident and ambitious but I did not falter from my orders, because I had faith in the vision and in mission. Then you returned and I knew it was almost time. I took every opportunity to observe you and your family and friends. I needed to understand everything so nothing would be left to chance. So I watched and you delivered all the answers to my questions. I learned so much about what you would and would not do when it came to family and especially when it came to your brother Sam. You see Dean, he was the key to getting that yes. I was never so sure as when I watched you after he died in that cave."

Dean's eyes met Michaels. "You were watching even then? You stood by, why take the chance, we could have all been killed?" The archangel seemed to have anticipated that Dean would have questions about this. "Yes Dean and you should be glad that I did, because I could have killed your angel and your brother over and over again if I hadn't, so be thankful I took the time to understand you and what makes you tick. I knew that a dead Sam meant you would be suicidal and go down fighting. Whereas, a Sam in danger, but with a chance of getting rescued, was a Dean that would say yes and sacrifice himself. And Dean, you really did not disappoint. You did exactly as I planned."

Michael was now walking around the table. Dean had taken all the information in and was trying to gleam anything of use. As he listened to how the archangel outline the last few months it dawned on Dean just how much information Michael had and specifically how much of a glimpse the archangel had into the future. Filled with dread, he knew he had to ask the next question, but he got the feeling he really wasn't going to like the answer, but he had to know. "Michael! You knew didn't you? … I mean, you saw me saying yes, didn't you? That's why you came here alone? You can tell me, because let's face it, who am I going to tell?"

"Yes Dean, I knew everything. You see, the prophet's vision outlines God's orders, but I have many special gifts, one of which is the gift of foresight, especially concerning my own personal future. And I knew the road back to you would be difficult. It would require great sacrifice from me. Faith and sacrifice. Firstly, faith in my father's word and vision. Faith, that when I would get here, I would secure my vessel. Secondly, there was always going to be sacrifice. I was going to have to give up commanding my old world. Give up my armies of angels. Give up my reign and command. Just like you would have to sacrifice yourself for your family."

"I knew, that I had to have faith that you would say yes, but only when you felt I was too weak to fight either Lucifer on my own or you. So I had to confront the half breed. I also had to have faith that I would survive the nephilim's wrath. It was a gamble, but thank Father, it paid off. You see Dean, there was always a plan and you had never really a choice. Why do you think I came looking for you straight away, when I should have used the advantage of surprise for fighting you and your little band of hunters later? I came for you Dean. It was always about you. In fact, everything I've done over these past 13 months have been for you!"

Yes, Dean did understand it. Michael may have been talking, but Dean had been really listening. "You planned everything. You left nothing to chance, right down to manipulating Lucifer, didn't you? I was wrong. You're not like every big bad villain I've ever faced down. No, you're much worse. All others believed they were doing what they were doing because they wanted to rule the world. But you, no you believe you're on a mission from God. You're self righteous and that makes' you more dangerous than anyone I've ever faced. You're…" Michael stopped Dean with a simple wave of his hand. It was clear he had heard enough and was tiring of Dean's tirade.

"Dean. I'm going to stop you there, because we both know you're going to say something that you're going to regret. You're angry, scared, powerless and betrayed. I also know those are all things you hate being, but Dean you need to understand. I am righteous in what I do. Just like you, the righteous man, I have purpose and it is clear and like you, I follow the orders that my father gives me. We are no different."

Dean was close to tears. He was trying to work out, whether they were tears of sadness or anger. He wanted to say anger but he knew Michael was right about how he felt and more importantly, he knew that Michael had his claws deep into Dean's soul. He could feel how tired he was. He could feel the archangel's grace interacting with his soul and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew he couldn't give up, so in a less than confident voice, Dean spoke. "I'm nothing like you. And yes, I am scared and at the minute powerless, but I won't give up fighting you. I can feel your grace chipping away at my soul, but you won't win. I've had years of torture by one of the best torturers in hell, so I won't break easy. And this time, I know what's at stake if I do break, so rest assured, you may be walking about in my body but my soul is off limits. So do your worst!"

Michael's POV:

Michael took in his vessel as he feebly tried to fight back. Dean was weakening, but Michael knew that the human was a fighter and it would take more than keeping him locked away within his mind, he knew he was going to have to unleash much more creative ways of getting the hunter to finally break down and give in. But he was patient and he could wait. As Dean practically give him the green light to 'do his worst', Michael just sighed heavily. "It's never the easy, well travelled road with you Dean, is it? You always have to take the difficult path, don't you?"

Michael really didn't expect an answer. Dean looked exhausted and defeated. Michael snapped his fingers and transported the hunter back to his room. Losing his balance, Dean flumped down on his bed. Though he was momentarily disorientated, Dean shrieked out, "what the hell? Don't do that, or if you are going to move me about like this, could you at least do me the respect of warning me first. Otherwise I'm going to personally aim any vomit in your direction. Got it?"

Ignoring the human, Michael back handed Dean and then proceeded to grab him by the neck and haul him further up the bed. Dean struggled against him, but Michael knew it was useless. Using his power, Dean was pushed onto the flat of his back. This seemed to panic the hunter even more. Michael couldn't lie to himself, seeing Dean powerless and frightened pleased him greatly. But it did something to the connection between his grace and Dean's soul. Sensing something violating was coming, Dean shouted, "Get the hell off me you freak. Don't dare touch me. No means no." Michael said nothing, instead, he let the silence work for him as it unnerved the hunter even more. Dean couldn't take the silence and continued, only this time in a quieter voice "Whatever you're thinking of doing Michael, just don't. Please don't. I don't want any type of bond or connection with you. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Relax Dean. I know your mind goes straight to torture, and believe me, I am not adverse to any form of torture, if it will help me achieve my goal, but there are many ways of torturing you Dean. I find the psychological torment to be as effective as physical and I know you have a high threshold to physical pain. Soooo, I'm going to try something else. But, it's been a great attempt by you to delay, but we need to strengthen our connection. The time for talking is over now Dean."

Michael could sense that Dean thought he was about to be physically raped and abused. Though, tempting as that was, Michael fought the physical pull that the bond was causing. To help him control himself, the archangel resulted to heavy petting. His hands took time to map out his vessels' metaphysical body. Dean squirmed as his touches tended to linger in sensitive areas. Michael's hands moved towards his lips and Dean took the opportunity to bite. The archangel moved each hand, so that it was placed on Dean's cheeks. With Dean's head now firmly in place, Michael began to stare at him. Concentrating on the connection, Michael's eyes began to glow blue as the hunter screamed at the pain of his soul being forced to bond. The archangel then moved his hands down, until both were hovering over Dean's heart. He then lowered them until Dean could feel the weight on his chest. Once contact was made, Michael began to speak out an ancient spell. He smiled as his sword screamed and then passed out.

One earth day later, Michael revisited the hunter. Dean had not moved from where he had left him. Smiling down at the hunter, Michael looked deeper into the soul and was pleased by how the binding was going. Uttering a simple spell, Dean came back to consciousness. As he jolted awake, he found he could move, but because his body had been in the one position for over 24 hours straight, Dean found his limbs were stiff and it was difficult to even sit up a little straighter in the bed. It took the hunter at least three attempts to get himself into a position were he felt a slither of security. As he began to speak, he managed to croak out, "what the hell did you do to me?"

Whilst his vessel had been unconscious, Michael had been very productive. He had been travelling the world and doing further research on specifics to aid in the execution of his plans. There was still much to do, but he could spare some time for his favourite human and soul bond, after all, the human had a central role to play. "It's good to see you awake Dean. I would apologise for putting you under, but…. as you know, I don't really care about what your feelings on the matter are. All I care about is the plan, our bond and your role. Oh, and in answer to your question, I put you under because I needed to strengthen the bond among other things. I'm pleased to say it has went well." As Michael spoke, he seemed to fidget with the bedding as if he was contemplating sharing further information. Of course, his vessel noticed this.

"It went well? Oh, well, that's OK then, isn't it? I'll just relax now knowing that we're getting on 'like a house on fire.' That makes me feel wonderful about the soul rape you just did on me." Dean flustered and fumed, shifting from side to side. It was clear to Michael, that the human felt it was the only way of showing his anger and discontent. Michael watched as Dean's eyes moved from side to side. It was clear the vessel had more to say on the matter, but was struggling to decide how to say it. Dean didn't disappoint. "Tell me, what's really going on? I mean, it's clear you've been planning and that you leave nothing to chance, so why don't you humour me? Tell me, I mean, it's not as if I can escape and foil your evil plan now, is it?"

Michael weighed up Dean's words. By nature, Michael had always been as secretive as he had been strategic. And Dean was correct, there was no real escape for Dean. Michael had seen to that. He thought about the ramifications of sharing any information, and after a while decided, that Dean knowing and being powerless would be just another form of torture. And Michael could live with that. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Dean an began.

"Why not. Besides, you're right Dean, you won't be sharing this with anyone. I have failsafes in place, even if you do manage to get away from me, even for a second. But the question is, where to start and what to share? The beginning is probably best, don't you think?" Not expecting an answer, Michael continued.

"Thirteen months ago, life held nothing for me. My world was conquered. The humans were on the brink of collapse. Hell was in disarray and Lucifer was dead. There were no challenges and no purpose. I had done everything, but my father still remained missing. Then Kevin had his vision about you and it became clear. You see, Lucifer may have died at my hand, but not by using our true vessels. The prophecy was not done right. Father was clearly angry and the other world and everything within it was my punishment. But the vision and your very existence, proved to me clearly that I was being given another chance. I mean, what are the odds of my true vessel just popping into my universe. It was meant to be. But like always, father had rules. The vision was clear, you would come to this world, but you wouldn't say yes. You would leave but would return. So I kept the faith."

"So I waited and you arrived along with Lucifer. As you know, I felt you the moment you arrived and the pull of your soul to my grace was beyond words, but I was strong. I kept the faith and stayed away, watching things unfold from afar. You left and the pain was unbearable, but I believed in the prophecy and waited. I took the time over the next year to understand everything about your world and about you. In short, I knew then and there, that my father wanted to me to go to this world and fix it by doing it right. I was getting my second chance. As I loyal son, I began to plan. I waited as I knew my father would send more visions. And he did."

"My father spoke to me, through his prophet. He told me of the abomination, that was Lucifer's son. The nephilim would come to my world and that would be the sign that you would follow. I waited and when 'Jack' arrived, I knew the clock was ticking. So I tried to find a way to get to your world. It consumed me. I tried to get the half breed to open a portal but it wasn't the path father had planned for me. So I waited. Kevin had another vision, and it showed me that you would come again, but you would only say yes to me, when I made sacrifices. I had to leave everything behind and come alone to this universe and secondly, I had to trust father by sacrificing my vessel and fight the nephilim."

"It was a huge sacrifice to make, but it was clear that a yes from my sword was worth it. So I made my plans. All whilst, the nephilim and rebels fought back. I resisted annihilating all the rebels, because I knew they had a role to play in bringing us together. Then you came back to my world, and well, you know how that story ended?" Michael stopped to ensure Dean was still keeping up. He looked over at the human who had been listening. Dean fidgeted and then asked, "So, that explains all your plotting but it doesn't really explain the grand plan and all this crap that you've been doing,"

Given a chuckle and a few nods, Michael continued. "I was getting to that. Where was I? Oh yes, I secured the all-important little 'yes' from you. So, now that I had ownership of your meatsuit, I needed to secure the soul bond to my grace. It's essential to do this, so I can harness all the power from your soul going forward. I am already all powerful, but with a complete bond, the power will be unimaginable. As you can see, and most likely feel, that is already progressing. Just as destiny dictates."

"In terms of the plans, I'm in the process of identifying allies and putting the finishing touches to my plans, because this time I'm going to do it right. I will have my better world and you, Dean Winchester will help me achieve it. Sadly, like before, there will have to be some temporary sacrifices but the way has been prepared." Michael was about to continue, but Dean interrupted, "what do you mean by temporary sacrifices?" Nodding, the archangel replied, "I thought you would pick up on that. I'm talking about you Dean."

"Me, a temporary sacrifice?" Michael rose to his feet and started to pace. "Try not to get excited, but my plans will require stealth in your world. And well, as powerful as our connection is and will become, I will need to leave your meatsuit and use another vessel. Because let's face it, your face is known to this worlds' security agencies as well as to hunters. Unfortunately, for a considerable part of setting my plans in place, I will need to leave you. BUT Dean, don't celebrate, because I will return."

"Bring it on Michael. Because, good luck in trying to get that yes a second time. There's not a snowball's chance in hell I'm saying yes to you again. So…" Michael clicked his fingers and Dean temporarily lost his voice.

"I know Dean, that' what I meant when I talked about fail safes. I don't need a second yes!" Michael paused, to ensure that fact sunk in.

"No fucking way. I don't believe you. The lore is clear, you need my permission and you may have gotten lucky the first time, but there's no chance of a second yes coming from me. It aint going to happen. You're lying or delusional." Dean managed to get his sentence out, despite his disbelief at Michael's statement.

"Oh Dean, I don't need a second yes, because I built a 'back door' so to speak. So Dean, I can come and go as I wish because there's a bond building between us. It's growing as we speak. Slowly taking over. That doesn't stop if I vacate your vessel. It continues, until one day, we are one. It's inevitable, just like everything I've done that day over 13 months ago. Everything that was done Dean, was bringing me on a journey, back to you. And going forward, we will always find our way on the road back to each other. You're mine Dean. So get used to it!"

Dean went to protest but Michael decided the time for talking was over. He grabbed Dean and hoisted him up onto his feet and began to throw him from one side of the room to the other. Dean tried to fight back, but the hunter knew it was pointless, so he focused on protecting himself as much as possible from the full power of the hits that came his way. After a few minutes, Michael spoke. "Now Dean, let's get busy breaking you down. whatta you say, how about some torture? What first, a little bit of knife work, or maybe some whipping or I am dying to do some… em.. what do you humans call it? Ah yes, I'd love to try out water boarding on you. How do you feel about drowning Dean? Oh well, we have lots of time, why not try everything."

His vessel's scream was the last thing he heard as Michael opened his eyes. He smiled back at his reflection as he finished drinking his coffee. As much as he enjoyed playing with Dean, he had things to do, places to go and people to persuade. He was currently sitting by a window in a trendy coffee shop, in downtown Chicago. He placed the cup on the table and lifted his jacket and cap and made his way out onto the crowded city streets. It had been raining whilst he had engaged with his soul bond. He had missed the shower of rain, but he now took time to savour the new world. With a confident stride he walked down the street relishing how he was going to do it right this second time.

He reached the sidewalk and couldn't help but smile. The road and been difficult and long, but patience, duty, love, sacrifice and even obsession had helped him to get to his vessel and all these traits and his strength would be needed as he took brave new steps out to build his better world. He would have to take risks and he sacrifices at various stages would be needed, but the mission came first and he would never let go of Dean. Stepping out onto the road, his eyes flashed blue as he began his new journey – to make a better world!

THE END.


End file.
